Faces of War
by Ethereal Bliss
Summary: They just lived simple, day-to-day lives in the Frontier. But that was subject to change. Soon, they are thrust into a war they had no qualms to fight in and from that point on, their regular lives were lost forever. War. War never changes. But the people that fight in them, they do.
1. IMC OPERATIONS LOG

Disclaimer: I do not own Titanfall

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IMC Operations Log Entry #0351

-0100 HOURS: Prototype Model of [Classified] has been properly made. Tests to followed on throughout the day. Dr. Kleiner has also finished the prosthetic leg enhancements. Distribution to be commenced later throughout the year.

-0250 HOURS: STRYDER Titan model to be tested on IMC training simulating grounds. All Lab Personnel must be present at testing. Pilot [Classified] will be handling the test.

-1457 HOURS: STRYDER Titan model ambushed on testing grounds. 21 Casualties. 3 Pilots, 14 Groundwork Personnel, 4 Lab Personnel. Replacements for losses required.

-1900 HOURS: IMC Operations Base location is compromised. Testing and facilities area not safe from outer wildlife and Insurgents. [Classified] Prototype to be moved out of the facilities soon.

-2100 HOURS: [Classified] has been shipped off IMC Operations Base [Classified] to the [Classified] Sector. Continual tests will be made in the Sector.

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IMC Covert Operations Audio Log Entry #31

Audio Playback: Ahem, is this thing on? Okay? Good. This is Executive Officer of the IMC Carrier, the Odyssey, James MacAllan, clearance code [static]. Anyway, to cut to the chase, one of our planetary frigates lost hold of some sort of cargo one of the colony runs. Pilot claims that he doesn't know where exactly the cargo has been dropped or stolen but a planet-wide, colony sweep will be conducted… That is all to report. End of Audio Log. MacAllan out.

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IMC Covert Operations Audio Log Entry #53

Audio Playback: This is Sergeant Blisk of the 32nd IMC Ground Infantry Division, clearance code [static]. Sources from throughout the Planet [static]'s colonies claim that the lost prototype model has been taken to Colony H-24. Reports are sketchy but these claims are the IMC's best bet. The IMC will launch a full-force ground invasion in -1800 hours. Lethal force has been authorized by the IMC higher-ups. All Insurgent resistance shall be crushed if there is any at all. If the prototype retrieval is a failure, all reports on this Operation shall be entered in as Classified. These are the orders from the Fleet Admiral. That is all. End of Audio Log. Blisk out… [static] ([Audio Recovery Enabled] I miss my son.)

[End of Transmission]

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IMC Covert Operations Audio Log Entry #61

Audio Playback: This is Marcus Graves, Vice Admiral of the IMC Fleet. So far the Colony-wide search has been proven unsuccessful. Civilian and Insurgent resistance has been high and the IMC are nowhere closer to finding the [static]. Further information shall be added. Graves out.

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IMC Fleet Registration No. [Classified] Codename: [The Odyssey]

-Class: Space Carrier

-Model: IMC Interstellar Battle Cruiser

-Manufacturer: Hemingway Metalworks

-Crew: [Classified]

IMC Carrier Captain Audio Log Entry #[Classified]

Audio Playback: This is Executive Officer James MacAllan… actually, scratch that. It's just MacAllan now. The Odyssey is no longer in IMC boundaries and control. With the time this cruiser has left to the audio log mainframe, I, James MacAllan, plead to all who can listen to my voice right now. The IMC are monsters. Today, many men and I witnessed the brutality and ruthlessness of the IMC. The IMC that is known throughout the media is nothing but a lies written on paper but money-wielding business corporates. We saw the murder of countless innocent civilians that suffered at the hands of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation. Many men and I have now defected from the IMC and led a mutiny against the Fleet Admiral aboard this cruiser. I urge all IMC operatives who hear this message to hear the cries of injustice that rings throughout the Frontier. Open your eyes and ears! See the Frontier for yourself and see what the IMC has been doing for decades. And now, I leave that choice to be made to you, Pilots.

It has been an honor serving with many courageous members of the IMC who are still blind to the plague they have unleashed onto your mind.

We may see each other on the Frontier, as allies fighting with along with each other or enemies at each other's throats.

But until then,

MacAllan out.

[Audio transmission over.]

[Transmitting to all IMC radio broadcast networks and fields]

[Transmission complete]

[Delete Audio Log?] [Y/N]

=Audio Log deleted. System shutting down=

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	2. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Titanfall

Author's Notes: I may just work with this. I don't know if I'll continue this but I have nothing else to do. So stay tuned and enjoy.

Reviews and Etc are greatly appreciated.

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"Dominic! It's my turn to use it now! Come on!"

A young boy with a freckled face brushed the light brown hair out of his face as he looked on at his older brother controlling a yellow-blue, freshly painted robotic exoskeleton with little to no difficulty. The young boy's face was filled with hungry excitement and anticipation at the chance that he was going to ride with the mech.

"Don't even trip Adri." Dominic said. "I barely used this thing for more than three minutes!"

The boy stamped his foot down, hair blowing, puffing. "That's plenty of time! You know what I could have done in three minutes? I could have checked the crops in the back yard, maintained the windmills, repaired the tools…"

Dominic sighed, shutting his blue eyes and shaking his head, making his brown hair sway. His brother was always like this, being the youngest one in the family. Despite his short stature and rather quick temper to point things, like this, out, the kid was a genius. He had figured how to disassemble and reassemble his crib at the lively age of three years old with the help of a rusty spoon. A year later, he would go on to fix that one malfunctioning crop duster drone that crashed because of bad weather along with improvements. He had added a lightweight highly-protective outer coating layer to the frame of the drone and reinforced it with a shipment of who-knows-what that his dad received from work.

In short, it was much better than before.

Genius or not, Adri, had a nasty temper at times. It didn't help his reputation… if he had one. With an attitude like that, he quickly shunned those who he didn't consider "geniuses" or on his level of intellect. The subjects that the school had taught Adri was simply not good enough. By the end of his first year, he had finished the entire building library and started to study mechatronics, the art of making mechanical human extensions or, what the two would like to call them, Titans.

They were the hottest thing on the current market. Dominic knew that Adri loved Titans. In their room, Adri's side of the bedroom was literally covered with Titan designs, mechanics, augments and such. Dominic knew basics of the engineering of Titans but he was nowhere close to Adri's level. Normally, Adri would make a big fuss when someone didn't know the advanced technical capabilities of a Titan but with Dominic, he didn't say a word.

Was it pity or the feeling of superiority that made Adri not nag at him? Dominic didn't have the slightest idea but he was grateful.

But, that didn't stop Adri from nagging at him when he wanted to ride the Titan and right now, he was literally fuming with impatience.

"Dominic Pierce, I am not going to repeat myself ag-"

"Hey Dom! Adrian!" A voice said. It belonged Dominic's friend, Hyun, who was a close family friend. He was an Asian boy of average height and an athletic build. Sports competitions or anything that required physical movement, Hyun would be there. Star athlete and a citizen of Earth, Hyun often spoke of his future with grandeur. Becoming the greatest sprinter or javelin hurler were a few of his ambitions. But Hyun had a favorite sport that many of the kids in the colony enjoyed to participate in.

Titan Rodeo-ing.

Although it sounded quite dangerous, which it was, the most anyone got from rodeo-ing the mechanical beast was a broken hand… and that was Hyun. He tried rodeo-ing two Titans at once… and it didn't end so well.

Of course, their parents, and the parents of all the other children, scolded them all, but despite the nagging it was incredibly fun. Dominic, too, had participated in the sport and experienced the exhilaration of being tossed from side to side while clinging onto the bucking mech for dear life. All the children of Colony H-24 loved it.

All the children but one.

And that was Adrian.

He called it a waste of time and parts for Titans. Often times, the Titans' would break a joint or a certain portion would break after much strain. Being only about ten to eleven feet tall, it didn't take too much to damage a Titan. Rather than Dominic's own parents, it was Adrian that would scold him. Dominic often sighed heavily during those times, much to his younger brother's aggravation. The boy was just too obsessed.

And it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

"… Did you grease all the joints? Maintenance is key, Adri." Hyun asked.

"What do you take me for, a lazy bum?" Adrian snapped. "OF COURSE I did."

Adrian turned and faced Dominic who was still on the Titan. "Well, your cretin of a friend is here-"

"Hey!" Hyun barked, glaring at Adri with a serious/playful death gaze.

"-And I would appreciate if you would get off now."

Oh. Right.

Dominic sighed. "Fine Adri, be careful. It's not like the old one we had."

Brushing the visor glass with a washcloth, Dominic jumped out from the seat and helped Adrian up into the cockpit.

"Hey." Adrian said, a wide grin spread on his face. "You know you are talking to me, right?"

Dominic chuckled as he rubbed the exterior of the Titan with a gloved hand. "Alright, go easy on the brakes this time. The last one…"

"Yeah yeah." Adrian said, brushing Dominic off. "IDRA MK-II, let's go!" Adrian exclaimed as he ran off into the fields past the shed.

"IDRA MK-II?" Hyun asked. "Where does that come from?"

"Well…" Dominic said, taking his gloves off and dusting them. "Long story short, when Adri was a baby, he had a little problem pronouncing his own name, getting the first, middle, and last letters mixed up. And thus, here we have IDRA MK-II."

"What happened to MK-I?"

Dominic rolled his eyes. "You know… The cornfield incident…"

"Ah." Hyun said, snapping his fingers. He then thought for a moment "We never actually recovered the Advanced Boost Core Drive from that, huh?"

"Recovered Titan equipment? Of course not!" Dominic said. "The Black Sparrows homed in on the fields literally two seconds after we left the wreckage… wait…"

"What?" Hyun asked.

"Your brother is a part of the Black Sparrows, right?" Dominic asked.

"Shin?" Hyun asked. "He's the brigade leader… why?"

"And on that night you told me that…."

"He came home late…" It took Hyun and Dominic three seconds to process the information before looking at each other and both simultaneously exclaiming out loud "OH!"

"Of course Shin had it…" Dominic said. "I should've guessed… Where do you think it is?"

"Probably the Black Sparrow HQ… oh who am I kidding, it's probably in his room, under the bed…"

"Hah." Dominic chuckled. "Let's go check on it tomorrow."

"Mhm." Hyun said, nodding.

"How's Shin doing?" Dominic asked.

"Well…" Hyun said, slightly shrugging. "He just came back from a raid on some military outpost I heard."

"Holy crap!" Dominic exclaimed. "A military outpost?! That's insane."

"I know. That's what I told him. But of course, he never listens. He just says that all the guns and stuff he took was necessary."

"Damn… Guns…" Dominic said.

"But say," Hyun said quickly, changing the subject, "how in the world did we manage to find that Titan Kit?"

"I dunno… Adri said that he found it in a dropped crate outside in the fields on night. We recovered the crate it came in. Along with a massive dent on the side, the letters I-M-C were emblazoned on it as well."

"IMC… IMC…" Hyun muttered to himself. "The… Um… Oh! The Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation! My dad works there!"

"Right." Dominic said, nodding. "But what the heck is a Core Engine developed by your dad's company doing out in this middle of nowhere amongst the Frontier Colonies?"

"Beats me…" Hyun said, shrugging. "I wonder if they lost it?..."

"Well, it's too late now…" Dominic said. "Unless we can somehow get Shin to fork it over to us."

"Probably not going to happen…" Hyun said. "That Titan kit isn't something that we can get from our interstellar trader. From what I compared from the kits we've used and that one, that one was incredibly more advanced… Could it be possible that the IMC is producing Core Drives for the military?"

"What?" Dominic said. "Don't be absurd. Titans used for modern warfare? You'll be a sitting duck, running around in that thing."

"Don't be such a thick head Dom." Hyun snapped. "I mean, not only Core Drives but hulls and chassis as well. We could be talking about an entire manufactured army here. Military grade armor and Core Drives… This is some serious things we might have stumbled ourselves into."

"Maybe… maybe not…" Dominic said. "But whatever happens, and Shin actually happens to have the core, he'll know what to do. He always does."

"Sigh, I hope you're right." Hyun said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Hyun said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Lately Shin has been arguing a lot with my parents, especially my father."

"About what?" Dominic asked.

"Can't say." Hyun said. "I don't even know myself but they are always arguing and things never get any better."

"Does it have to do anything with his raids towards the well-to-do colonies? He smuggles goods and supplies for all of us here. It's vital that he does. Our farm here alone isn't enough to feed everyone in the colony."

"Yeah, ever since we lost old man Breckon and his family down southward… and the entire portion of the colony there…"

Dominic nodded. "Those were tough times… We had to ration our supplies carefully and that still wasn't enough to sustain the remnants of the colony… It's a miracle the Black Sparrows get the supplies for us… We'd be dead without them…"

Hyun sat down on a broken-down tractor in the yard, sighing. "Yeah… but their efforts to keep us alive ignite retaliation against us. You know, the Nightsiblings from Colony E-5 and the Frost from Colony C-7. They're REALLY pissed at us, Colony H-24."

"Don't forget the Marauders from the Highlands."

Hyun shook his head as he threw a piece of scrap metal off the tractor and into the waste bin. "They don't even belong to a colony… They're just a bunch of Outlaws and Gunslingers that don't have any ties from a distinct Colony… Besides, they haven't bothered us in a long time."

Shrugging his shoulders, Dominic sat down next to Hyun and let out a low whistle. "Funny thing… how fast time goes by…"

"Yep." Hyun said, agreeing.

The two sat on the rusted tractor as the wind subtly blew by, brushing against the field grass ever so softly. It was a peaceful sight. The sun high in the sky, the sky blue as can be and the grass lazily lolling in the wind.

"You're probably wondering why I came today." Hyun said, sitting up straight.

"Why?" Dominic said, "Is there something wrong?"

"Dom." Hyun said, looking at Dominic with a serious face. "I'm moving away from the Frontier."

Dominic literally jumped off from the tractor and met Hyun's eyes with excitement. "Oh-my-God! Congrats!"

Hyun's face remained mellow and looked at Dominic with a sad gaze. "Thanks…" He muttered.

Dominic raised an eyebrow, "Why? What's wrong? Shouldn't you be glad? I mean… Considering the condition of Colony H-24…"

Hyun sighed as he scratched his head, flicking a leaf off of his head. "You know why…"

Whenever Hyun sighed like that, Dominic immediately knew what it was aimed towards. "It's Sarah, huh?"

Hyun nodded with angst.

"And is that the reason why you are here? To say your good-byes?" Dominic asked, dusting his jeans and pocketing his hands.

Hyun partially shrugged. "More or less I guess… I'm gonna miss it…"

"What? Sarah?" Dominic asked.

"Her too." Hyun added. "Everything, Dominic. I'm gonna miss it all…"

Dominic peered over his shoulder and gazed at the afternoon sun. "The Sunrise."

"The Sunset."

"Titan-Rodeos every Saturday night by the market stands."

"And most of all…" Hyun said, standing up, next to Dominic. "Everyone."

Dominic glanced over at Hyun, who sighed loudly.

"Adrian, Isa, Aston, Iv, Niel…"

"What about me." Dominic said, giving Hyun a blank look.

"Oh, you…" Hyun said, chuckling, giving Dominic a playful punch on the arm. "Of course."

Dominic laughed too, rubbing his arm. He sighed. "When are you leaving?"

Hyun rubbed his chin. "Tonight."

"What?! Why so suddenly?"

"It was planned from waaaay before Dom…"

"And you didn't tell us until now?" Dominic retorted.

Hyun sighed as he rubbed his dusty face. "I didn't want you guys to know because I wanted to spend the last days in this Colony without you guys worrying about me leaving… I just… I just wanted to spend my remaining time with you guys as much as possible…"

Dominic thought for a moment. "Which reminds me, what are you going to do about Sarah?"

"That's why I'm here Dom…"

"Oh." Dominic said, feeling his stomach drop slightly. "That's why…"

"What are we going to do, Dom?" Hyun asked, voice slightly quivering. "You know Sarah…"

"We?!" Dominic exclaimed. "She's your girlfriend man! Not mine! What the heck am I supposed to do?!"

"Look, I don't know crap about dealing with girlfriends, heck, girls in general. That's why I came to you." Hyun said. "Do what you do best…"

"OH NO, YOU JUST DIDN'T IMPLY WHAT I THOUGHT YOU JUST DID." Dominic said.

"No… that's not what I meant… actually, after what happened with that girl from Colony A-3, y-"

"You're really testing your luck Hyun."

"I take that back… But really…" Hyun said. "You know about girls waaay more than I do, so c'mon, help me out on this!"

Dominic thought for a moment, running his hand through his hair. He groaned "Fine… Because it is your last day…"

"Woo-hoo!" Hyun said, bolting across the yard, rejoicing.

"But keep in mind Hyun."

Hyun stopped running around. "Keep what in mind?"

"If Sarah beats my ass on your behalf, I will literally search through all star systems and I WILL find you. And when I do, I'll return the favor then. Got it?"

Hyun's eye twitched slightly. "O-okay…" He said.

Dominic sighed. "And now… don't you have someplace to be?" He said, raising an eyebrow to Hyun. "FYI, you leave tonight?"

"Right." Hyun said, snapping his fingers. "I'll be on my way then."

"You go do that." Dominic said, rubbing his face.

"Don't forget to talk to Sarah, Dominic…" Hyun said, exiting the yard through the gates. "I'll see ya around then."

"Mhm…" Dominic said, sighing.

He fell back down onto the rusted vehicle and brought his hands to his face, stressed.

"It's Hyun isn't it?"

Dominic looked up and saw Adrian, still in the Titan, looking at the gate which Hyun left from earlier. "He's been acting strange lately…"

Dominic sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Why's that Adri?"

Adrian shrugged as he rubbed the controls on the Titan. "He lacks the regular confidence he usually imposes on us… But, I digress…"

"You think?" Dominic said, standing up and approaching the Titan. "I don't know… He just wanted me to deliver good bye to Sarah… and you know how she is…"

"The she-devil herself when it comes to things like that…" Adri said. "But she's one hell of a mechanic, I have to say…"

"Watch your mouth kid…" Dominic said, "Don't let mom catch you saying that."

"Yeah yeah." Adrian said, brushing the hair out of his face. "I'll put away IDRA MK-II and I'll meet you up at her house, you good?"

Dominic nodded. "Be sure to clean IDRA before you leave… and lock up the shed too. I'll meet you there."

Adrian nodded, marching towards the concrete-walled shed with the Titan.

Sighing, Dominic walked to the exiting gates.

_Time to reopen old wounds…_

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Sarah.

She was a pretty attractive girl with shoulder length long dark brown hair that was usually tied up into a ponytail. She also had a knack for things that required tech-savvy brains and anything that involved something tech-y. When she younger, she was never actually allowed in her father's personal workshop, so she tinkered around with various mechanical pieces and such and not long after, she came to love the art of making anything tech-y. Her father and mother were both skilled mechanics in the colony and she took on the tools of trade from them. Sarah's mother passed away after working on a mechatronics contract project with a foreign employer that had gone wrong. That toughened Sarah up pretty hard. She was a tom-boy, a major one at that. She had more brawn than many of the boys in the colony. Her short temper yet undaunted spirit earned her a tremendous amount of respect from older and younger people alike. When Dominic met her for the first time, he found her irresistible. Of course, he was but a child back then, but he found a girl that was tough and knew how to work the tools of a mechanic damn attractive.

Of course, Sarah was annoyed with Dominic when she first met him. She preferred to work with her machines without an audience and Dominic hindered her from working with his gaze set upon her. But one day, when Sarah was working on a rather big-sized Titan, she made a bad judgment in her step and fell off the metal behemoth. Luckily for her, Dominic caught her just in time. She was initially reluctant of Dominic's help but that sparked their relationship.

In all the free time he had, Dominic would spend his time at Sarah's place, helping her with the mechs and learning a thing or two. Her parents' were both lenient enough and didn't say anything to him for spending time alone with her. And slowly, Sarah became accustomed to Dominic's regular visits and she gradually came to enjoy his company. Soon, the two were in a relationship.

But not all things last.

When personally asked by Shin, Hyun's brother, the leader of the Black Sparrows, to join in on a raid to Colony A-3, he immediately volunteered. Sarah, also hungry for some adventure, tagged along with them. The two were split into two different units however. One unit, Dominic's, was to scour for food and supplies while the unit Sarah was in was assigned to look for tech parts. Colony A-3 was a much bigger town than that of Colony H-24. It had more people and a bigger stash of supplies that kept this well-to-do Colony up to speed and alive. However, there were many homeless people scattered across the streets of the Colony as well. Usually people ousted from their occupations or just another wanderer that has settled down, Dominic came to face the harsh reality of a well-to-do Colony.

And then it happened.

While on a final supply run to scavenge some edible protein, meat in this case, Dominic encountered another thief who had stolen the package he was supposed to take. The thief made him run from one end of the colony to the other. Jumping over walls, running along the walls, it was a long and hard pursuit that lasted for hours on end. But Dominic didn't give up. He needed that package for the sake of his colony and knew his duty. And finally, he had the thief cornered. The thief gave a long hard fight against Dominic. The thief was skilled in several forms of combat and agile but Dominic was better versed in street fighting and simple brute strength. He eventually emerged victorious with a single blow that grounded his adversary. Just as he was about to leave, the thief begged him for the package to which he denied. But then the thief revealed their face and Dominic saw that it was… a girl. She had light golden hair a scar that ran down her left eye. She told him that her name was Yvette and she was a member of a raid group, similar to the Black Sparrows, that was stationed in Colony A-3. And she said that, despite the good front the Colony had, it was falling apart around there. Mobs were rising, the Marauders began their raids, supplies and rations were unfairly divided amongst the rich and the poor. Yvette's group worked hard to keep the poor alive by stealing from the rich. Dominic pitied her. He saw no other choice but to give the ration to her, out of her sake and her group's. She was overjoyed and gave him a kiss directly on the lips. All would have been fine and dandy if Dominic hadn't left his tracker on. In literal seconds after Yvette's kiss, a unit that was dispatched to look for Dominic appeared.

And Sarah was in that unit.

And she saw the kiss.

Long story short, that's how their relationship ended. Of course, after hours of bickering and reasoning, the couple found no other solution other than to break up. Being immature then, Dominic wished he could have done or said something better but it was already too late. Sarah had lost interest in him. Of course, in a way, the two made up and things were back to normal… as friends. Dominic constantly thought back and continuously wished that he could've done better.

And now, around the marketplace, Dominic could make out the distinct outline of a mechanic's workshop and home.

_Well… here we are…_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"He what?!"

Dominic winced slightly as Sarah yelled into his face out of anger. Sighing he repeated, "Hyun's leaving the Frontier… He's headed back to Earth… or somewhere. And he asked me to tell yo"

Dominic visibly saw that it took Sarah about one second to process the information in her head. When she did, she exclaimed, "THAT FREAKING PUSSY!" With rage, she threw the wrench she held in her hand at tree that was in front of her father's workshop. She threw the wrench so hard, the picketed ends embedded themselves in the bark of the tree. Dominic felt the blood drain from his face, an all-too-familiar feeling he had around Sarah.

"URGH!" She said, shaking her bangs out of her face. "I can't believe that idiot! Was he that afraid to come to me in person and say his good byes?!"

"Sarah, everyone is afraid to speak to you in person." Dominic said. "Mind the wrench in the tree…"

She sighed. "Am I really that unapproachable?"

"With that kind of attitude, yeah." Dominic said without hesitation.

Sighing again, Sarah brushed her hair with a gloved hand as her face grew saddened. "Even to my own boyfriend… Good job Sarah…" She said sarcastically.

She looked up at Dominic and asked. "What should I do?"

Why the hell is everyone asking me for relationship advice? I'm already having a hard time with that…

"Hey Dom…" Sarah said, voice growing more demanding. "What should I do?"

"What the heck should you do?" Dominic said, barked. "Hell if I know."

"Look, you know Hyun better than anyone in this entire Colony. Tell me, what should I do for his good bye?"

"If anything, you should say good bye to him at the shuttle site leaving this evening." A voice said, around the corner of the workshop.

Both Dominic and Sarah looked over and saw Adrian popping his head out from the Titan from beside the cracking brick walls.

"Adri!" Sarah said happily. She loved Adrian. At first, she treated him like how she treated most boys who trodden on forbidden ground A.K.A her workshop. But she noticed something different about Adrian. He wasn't interested in her, he was more interested in the mechs and machines that lined neatly inside the workspace. Adrian gazed at the design posters and concept work that were plastered on the walls with awe. Their meeting was simply one skilled mechanic to another. The dynamics worked well.

"Hello Sarah." Adrian said, leaning back into the seat of the Titan. "I see that Dominic has gotten you stumbled into the predicament."

"Hey. It was on Hyun's insistence." Dominic grumbled. "Besides, we're all on the same boat here anyway…"

"And why do you say that?" Sarah asked, arms folded.

"We're all losing Hyun." Dominic said solemnly.

That shut all three of them up quite fast. Sarah's arms dropped as she looked down. Adrian brought his hands together and leaned on the Titan's controls. Dominic simply sighed.

"But I agree with Adri." Dominic said.

Adrian lifted his face with pride. "Of course you agree with me…" his face then fell for a moment. "Wait, on what?"

"Saying good bye to Hyun at the shuttle site this evening. There is bound to be a bunch of people there. We should go too. For Hyun."

Sarah nodded silently.

Dominic clapped his hands together. "Okay, it's settled then. We meet by the Munitions Depot near the marketplace in about…" Dominic checked his wrist for his silver watch. "Three hours or so."

Adrian nodded. "On the way here, I checked some of the flight schedules for the Frontier Shuttle and it should leave about that time…"

"Good." Dominic said. "In the meantime, Adri, go put the Titan away and lock up the shed. And Sarah…"

Sarah glanced at Dominic, arms folded, lifting her head in reply.

"Go wash up. You've got oil and grime on your face." Dominic said.

Sarah's face reddened, her tough act slowly on the decline. She nodded quietly as she discreetly rubbed her face.

Adrian began to make his way out of the Mechanical Workshop area. He looked back at Dominic. "What are you going to be doing Dom?"

"Huh?" Dominic asked, his mind elsewhere.

"I mean, it's three hours worth of time Dom." Adrian said, slightly annoyed. "What are you going to do?"

"I-I…" Dominic began to say. But he caught himself. He actually hadn't thought of anything. "I just need some time alone… I think."

Adrian nodded. "Whatever works… Just make sure to check in with dad later."

Did dad want my help?! I didn't even know! Dominic nodded. "I-I will."

And with that, the three went their separate ways.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dominic kicked an aluminum can off the dusty path as he wandered aimlessly in the Colony. He still couldn't believe that he was going to lose a close friend. Hyun was like a brother to him. Being raised together in the same Colony and all. Regulations for the Frontier Colonies didn't like the intermingling of Colonies, thinking that it may cause conflict. With that rule in place, friends were limited in this world, or particularly, this colony. Sure, there were plenty of other children but most of them were quite younger than Dominic. The reason was…

Well, because of the Night Raid several months ago… We lost almost everyone… Breckon was the first to go… he tried to fight back but he was just an old man… Aston's older brother, Mikahil, Iv's sister… not to mention most of the Black Sparrow unit… they were massacred… The Nightsiblings, of Colony E-5, they were relentless with their attack, showing no mercy… I was lucky… WE were lucky…

Dominic, Adrian, and Hyun weren't in the Colony during the initial raid. They were out in the Highlands, adventuring. They came back to a wrecked and smoldering Colony. Those were hard times, for everyone.

This was a hard time too.

However, Dominic knew. Somewhere in his mind, he knew he could bounce back from this. The attack of the Colony never really faded from memory but it strengthened him. It made him promise himself that he would never let an attack like that harm anyone he cared about. It was cheesy enough to think about but having almost all of your friends mowed down… it was a way to honor them. To not let it happen ever again.

Losing Hyun. He was losing a friend. Someone he cared about. Not that he could really do anything about it.

But he would see him again one day. He knew it.

Looking up, Dominic saw that he was close to his father's workplace. It wasn't much. Just another concrete and mortar shack that was decorated with posters and miniature billboards. Nothing too flashy or worth stealing. As Dominic got closer, he heard voices. It was his father, and he was talking to a person in a stern voice. Probably another poor client that was hapless enough to get on the bad side of his father.

Dominic 's father was a self-made man that made a name for himself across the Frontier… or more for his past occupation.

Aiden Cole Pierce was a Pilot.

If he remembered his history correctly, Dominic recalled that many years ago, maybe two decades, there was a war that involved the use of mechanical, robotic extensions. The Titans. It was recorded to be the first time for the use of Titans in combat and warfare. And with Titans, there needed to be people who could maneuver them.

Enter the Pilots.

Pretty much a Jack-of-All-Trades mercenary, the Pilots were skilled specialized soldiers whose role revolved around the piloting of the massive Titans. During those days, a story of legendary Pilot was spread around like a ghost tale. A pilot who showed no fear in the face of the steel behemoths. A pilot who practically invented Titan-Rodeo-ing. And that man, was Dominic's father.

The war had ended long since then and Pilots became something of a legend. Titans who were modeled for war were either destroyed or repurposed for civilian work. Those who actually were Pilots faded into the fabric of history, their names forgotten but their legacy remained. Dominic's father was the few that were still alive but forgotten. After the war, Aiden Cole Pierce settled down in the Frontier, his title as "The Pilot" fading away. But he didn't care. He had enough of that life.

And how did Dominic know this? Dominic saw the medals his father received and an old rifle inside a display case in his room. He asked his father and his father initially denied any ties to the belongings, saying that "He just got them."

But after Dominic became of age, his father told him. That shed new light onto the man that Dominic saw as his father.

But enough of that, Dominic looked through the window of his father's workplace and, as expected, saw his father chewing out an apparent client. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, Dominic quietly turned to go around the shop and through the back door.

"The IMC are making their way here Aiden." A voice, probably the client, said. "We are running out time."

Dominic ignored this.

"I've made note of that." Dominic heard his father say in his heavy-set voice. "Adrian knows where it is."

Dominic then stopped. As soon as he heard Adrian's name, he stopped in his tracks. He had to listen now.

"Aiden, Adri is just but a kid. A genius, a prodigy, yes, but that still doesn't change the fact that he's-"

"Enough." Dominic's father snapped. "I trust Adrian with my life. So does everyone in M-COR. If you don't agree, that's just too bad on your part."

Dominic heard the other person sigh. This was no client and manager conversation. Dominic realized he had stumbled into something that was beyond him. But he wanted to know what it was all about.

"I still think it's far too risky…" The other person said. "People might die Aiden."

"Do you think I don't know that?!" His father exclaimed. "People WILL die. It is a proven fact if you live out in the Frontier. It's all a sacrifice we are willing to make."

"Even if it means patriotic martyrdom?" The other person said in a low voice. "To die?"

"If it means a better future for them," Dominic heard his father say, "I'll gladly give up my life."

"It was meant to be rhetoric…" The other man said.

"I've put my life on the line more times than I can count." Aiden Pierce said. "I will do it again if need be."

"We need to keep it safe."

"I already told you. Adrian knows where it is. He'll know when." Dominic's father said. "Until then, it's up to us to prevent anything from happening."

Dominic's mind raced. What the heck are they talking about? What's with all this? And how is it related with Adrian?

"I think our discussion here is over." The man said. "I'll be on my way."

"You should be." Aiden said. "We've talked long enough."

Dominic heard a door open and he quickly hid behind a metal mechanical unit that was in front of the office window. Hearing the footsteps approach, Dominic ducked behind the metal plating, out sight. He slightly peered off the side to see who the man was. He had light blonde hair and fair white skin. He was tall and wore a brown trench coat. The man then speed-walked out of the building area and away from the shop as fast as he could without looking suspicious.

Swiftly, Dominic went into his father's shop. He heard his father sigh aloud as he sat down in front of his desk. In order to prevent from his father from finding out that he had eavesdropped, he knew he would have to keep up and act. He knocked the door to his father's office softly.

"Come in." His father said.

Slowly making his way in, he saw that his father had a look rather filled with distraught.

"Another tough day with a client I presume?" Dominic asked, playing a bluff.

"Oh you would not believe Dom…" His father said.

Strike one: He lied… How many times has he done this before?

"Adrian told me that you wanted to see me?" Dominic asked.

His father looked up at him with a strange look. "Did he? I don't remember requesting your help…"

"Huh?" Dominic said, surprised. "You didn't?"

His father shook his head. "I think you may have been misinformed."

"But that-uh, then what am I supposed to…"

His father leaned back into his chair, trying to get comfortable in the fine, leather swivel chair. He shrugged. "I'm sure you have your own things to attend to…"

"I-I…" Dominic tried to say, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess…"

Dominic turned to leave.

"Dom. Hold on a second."

He turned around to face his father who had his hands folded.

"What's up?" Dominic asked.

"I need to tell you something before you go." He said.

This piqued Dominic's interest. Could it possibly be related to what dad and the other man were talking about earlier? "S-sure…?"

"Listen carefully. What I'm about to say is-"

A sudden ring jolted throughout the room. Dominic was initially surprised at the ringing but he heard this sound many times before.

It was his father's Communications Link.

His father paused and looked over at the silver and black-lined rectangular box that flashed green. Flipping a black switch, his father spoke aloud, "Pierce and Co. You're talking to Pierce."

The speakers that were lined next to the machine crackled to life. After an incessant buzzing, the words "Wish to speak with you." were barely audible.

"Hold on please." Dominic's father said.

He then briefly turned the mute switch on for the machine and turned to face Dominic. "I'll tell you later Dom. I don't think right now is a good time."

Dominic sighed and reluctantly nodded his head. He turned to the doorway and turned the knob. Pushing the door he exited his father's office. Closing the door behind him, Dominic sighed. He didn't know what the heck was going on and he was nowhere closer to finding out about it.

Then, he felt a vibration on his wrist. It was his portable Communications Link on his wrist which he had received (smuggled) several months back. Looking at the monitor, Dominic saw Sarah's face. Judging by her face, she looked sort of… pissed off. Looking down back at her, Dominic said, "What is it?"

"It's almost time and both you and Adrian are nowhere to be found. Do you guys even think?"

Well sheesh. Not my fault. "My bad Sarah. I'll head over there soon."

"You better."

"Oh, and Sarah?"

"What?!" She said, irritated.

"You still got some dirt on your face… Wash your forehead for once."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You're still wearing that dirty red headband!" He whispered furiously.

"So?!" She snapped back. "Water wasn't running at the workshop so I found the next cleanest thing and put it over my forehead."

"I don't even want to know what you consider clean." He muttered.

"Oh shut it you…"

"Where's Adri?" Dominic asked Sarah quietly as he silently blended into the crowd that had formed at the shuttle bay.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "I thought he was with you!" She whispered.

"Wha-?!" Dominic gasped, exasperated. "I didn't see him after all of us departed."

"That's strange…" Sarah said, tilting her head which what she usually did when in thought. "He's always punctual… Unlike someone else I know."

"Hey." Dominic replied. "I am here, aren't I?"

"And if I hadn't contacted you through the Comm-Link, you probably would have been even later than you are now." Sarah snapped.

"Touché."

Dominic looked around them and started to take notice of the crowd. It was rather big and was growing in size. It ranged from small children to adults. Some were observers, gazing at the shuttle that occasionally made a stop at the Colony. Others were part of the departure, ready to move on from the Frontier and back to wherever they came from. Dominic had seen the crowds by the shuttle bay from time to time but they usually weren't this big.

"Any idea why there is such an audience today?" Dominic quietly asked, leaning towards Sarah.

"Beats me." Sarah said, shrugging her shoulders. "I know a lot of people in the Colony, but these aren't familiar faces."

"Could be people you just don't know…" Dominic suggested.

"Could be…" Sarah replied. "But what are the odds of that? The shuttle rarely comes in on a weekly basis and usually doesn't carry any passengers. Only supplies for the colony, that's it."

Dominic thought for a moment. "Yeah… that's kind of strange…"

"What's strange?" A voice said, behind them.

Both Sarah and Dominic turned around and saw Hyun standing there, luggage in hand. He had a smile on his face. It seemed rather forced.

"Hyun!" Sarah exclaimed as she quickly went up to him and hugged him.

"Sarah. Can't… breathe." Hyun said with a muffled voice as Sarah hugged him tighter.

"Oop!" Sarah said, letting go of Hyun. "Sorry! Sorry!"

Hyun set down one bag and rubbed his neck. "I never took you as a touchy-feely type… That was one hell of a hug."

"I'm not Hyun…" Sarah said adamantly. "That was just…"

"A good-bye hug basically." Hyun said, picking up the bag once again, walking towards landing platform. Dominic and Sarah followed.

"No! I-I mean yes! I-I… God damn, I'm so bad at this…" Sarah said, walking.

Hyun laughed as he approached the shuttle. "No you aren't. It was fine. I couldn't have asked for more."

"But it's not enou-"

"Sarah. Look at me." Hyun said. "I said I'm fine with it. Stop beating yourself up because of it… I never thought you were the fidgety type…"

"I'm not Hyun."

Hyun just rolled his eyes, chuckling. He then faced Dominic. There was a slight awkward silence.

"So…" Hyun said, breaking the silence. "This is good bye then… isn't it?"

"Never thought the day would come…" Dominic said. "Until today of course, but… yeah… it is…"

"Neither did I…" Hyun said, looking back out at the sky. "Never thought that I'd one day say good-bye to this God-Forsaken middle of nowhere but here I am."

"It was our God-Forsaken middle of nowhere." Dominic said, bring both Hyun and Sarah closer.

"Yeah." Hyun said, sniffing. "It was."

"And now..." Dominic said. "It won't be the same without you."

A tear rolled down Hyun's face. "Oh stop it... You guys will forget that I moved away... give it a couple weeks."

Dominic laughed as he scruffled Hyun's hair. Sarah just smiled.

"By the way, Dom, where the heck is Adri?" Hyun asked, looking around.

"I dunno. I thought I told him to-"

"You thought you told me to what?" A voice said.

It came from within the shuttle.

Soon, Adrian popped his head out from the shuttle door, staring at Dominic and everyone else strangely. "What?"

"What are you- why are- How the heck-" Dominic tried to say, tongue tied.

"Relax Dom." Adrian said, strolling out. "Just admiring the schematics of the new shuttle model. It's quite impressive."

"Well..." Hyun said, "Now that we're all here, I guess that this is officially good-bye..."

They all nodded, their faces slightly fallen.

Hyun walked towards the shuttle door as it hissed open. He set his bags inside and came back outside as other passengers started to pour into the spacecraft. Soon, everyone was inside and he stood alone by the doorway.

"Be sure to visit often Hyun." Dominic said, choking back the tears.

Hyun felt the same. "Of course I will. Just wait. One day, I'll get my own ship and I'll come back. It'll be just like old times again!"

Dominic sighed. "Just like old times."

Hyun nodded. "Yup."

Sarah walked up to Hyun and threw him another hug. Hyun hugged back. Dominic could make out the words that Hyun said. "I'll miss you."

As Sarah let go, she quickly dabbed her eyes with her work sleeves. Hyun slightly looked away, trying to hide his own tears.

Adrian then walked up to him. He held out his hand. Instead of being met with a hand shake, Hyun hugged him in a fashion that would make even Sarah surprised.

"You little rascal..." Hyun said, ruffling through Adrian's hair. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

Adrian tried nodding. He couldn't.

Hyun chuckled as he let Adrian go. He looked at Sarah one last time and then towards Dominic.

"Take care of her for me."

Dominic sighed and nodded. " Of course I will."

"Thanks..." Hyun said, sighing. "I-I appreciate it..."

"You should probably get going." Dominic said, pointing towards the shuttle.

"Oh, yeah. You're right." Hyun said turning.

The shuttle's ignition started and started to rise up. Hyun remained in the doorway as the lower hatch closed. He looked back down at Dominic who looked back up at him.

"I guess I'll see you later... Dom." Hyun said, his voice cracking.

Dominic nodded, holding back his pent up emotions. He waved.

Hyun waved back and soon, the doors on the door-hatch closed and Dominic could see Hyun no more.

He turned around and swallowed everything held in his throat. He sighed.

"Hey." Sarah said softly, grabbing Dominic's arm. "You okay?"

Dominic let out a small laugh. "I could ask the same to you as well... but, yeah... I guess... I'm fine..."

"Let's go back home." Adrian said, jumping off the landing platform. "Dad'll probably be waiting for us."

"Yeah.. you're probably rig-"

"Hey!" A member of the crowd exclaimed. "What the hell is that?!"

Dominic turned around and saw where the man was pointing at in the sky. He gasped.

It was the biggest space vessel that he had ever seen in his entire lifetime. It had appeared out of nowhere and now, it was here.

"What the hell is going?!" Another man yelled.

"I don't know! Do you?!"

"I just asked you, you idiot!"

The crowd of maybe sixty or seventy people turned into a clamboring riot. People were confused. Some were scared.

But something didn't sit right with Dominic. He saw the recently taken-off shuttle that Hyun was in. And it was dangerously close the massive spacecraft. He then saw a metal shaft extend from the vessel. It was pointing to something.

Right towards the small shuttle.

Oh no...

There was a deafening whirring sound as the extended barrel from the spacecraft began to light-up bright blue. Then, in a split-second, the charged energy discharged. It all happened so fast. Dominic couldn't even see the shuttle being blown to pieces. All he heard was a deafening explosion and a cloud of fire. No debris fell from the sky.

And now, the crowd was in utter panic. They all ran in many directions, trying to get away. Dominic looked at Sarah with pale face. He felt his heart drop to his feet. His legs felt like rubber. He couldn't breathe right. His eyesight became fuzzy. He could see Sarah but he couldn't see Adrian... Couldn't see Adrian...

WHERE IS ADRIAN?!

"Sarah! Where is Adrian?!" Dominic asked, voice panicky.

"I-I... I don't know Dom!" She said, exasperated, looking all around.

"This isn't happening... This isn't happening... Oh my God, this isn't happeni-"

"The main ship has just let out three drop ships!" The man from earlier said. "They're heading this way! GO! EVERYONE MOVE!"

Everyone began to run like mad down the street, away from the dropships. Dominic felt his legs give way as he fell to the ground, unable to comprehend what was taking place.

"DOM!" Sarah said. "We have to move!"

She tried pulling him up but he was dead weight. She couldn't make him budge.

"What is going on..." Dominic said, continuously repeating to himself.

He then felt himself being lifted up and carried on someone's back. He saw the Brown-Black colors and an insignia emblazoned onto the clothing of the person who was carrying him.

"Dominic, buddy." The person carrying him said. "You alright?"

Dominic looked at this rescuer.

The young man had Hyun's face.

It was Hyun's brother.

"Sh-Shin..."

And Dominic passed out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dominic bolted up, covered in sweat as he found himself in a dark room with only one light. He looked to his left and saw Sarah tending to him. When the two met eyes, Sarah sighed with great relief.

"He's awake Shin!" She said, calling Shin over.

Shin then emerged from the shadows, arms folded as he approached Dominic. "How you feeling Dom?"

"I-I... What the hell happened?" Dominic asked.

Shin sighed as he pulled up a rusty chair and sat in front of Dominic. "Those drops you saw fired Infrasound waves at you and the crowd."

"Infrasound?"

"It's a sound that has a frequency so low, our ears can't hear it."

"Yeah, so what does that sound do?"

"You can't hear the sound but your body feels it."

Dominic thought back to before he passed out. He had that swaying, very uneasy feeling, being unable to correctly breathe. "Yeah... I remember."

"We're lucky that I saw you go down." Shin said. "Others... weren't so lucky... There are at least two or three dozen people still lying out there...

"Unconscious?"

Shin shook his head. "Dead."

Dominic's jaw dropped. "Y-you can't be serious... Who the hell are we dealing with out there?"

Shin sighed. "It's the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation."

"The IMC?!" Dominic exclaimed. "Don't they produce working materials?"

Shin shook his head. "The IMC is a lot more powerful than you think Dom. They are the single-most richest foundation in the known galaxy. They have the money to buy themselves, hell, even produce, an army to fight for them."

"But why the hell are they here?!" Dominic asked. "Why Colony H-24?!"

"You see, the IMC-"

"Commander!" A voice rang out from outside the room. Then, a man in a similar outfit to Shin burst into the room, out of breath.

"What is it Collins?" Shin said standing up from his chair.

"An IMC convoy has arrived at his compound. They have us surrounded. We are heavily outgunned." Collins reported.

"How many men do you see out there?" Shin asked, running to a metal wall.

"Around 15 to 20 men sir."

Shin then popped off the hatch-lid that was on the wall and took out several long, metal containers.

"Gotta be prepared..." He said, catching Dominic's glance. "How many men do we have?"

"About 10 sir, excluding the two children." Collins said.

"Well, then." Shin said, opening the containers, "Make that number 12 Collins."

"Sir?"

In his hands, Shin carried several firearms and laid them on the table. "Ready up you two."

Shin pointed to the rifles and machine guns laid on the table. Both Dominic and Sarah gave Shin a surprised look.

"Look, there is no way in hell's name that we are going to be able to negotiate our way through those IMC mercenaries. Our solution is simple."

"And that is...?" Sarah asked.

"M-COR tactics." Shin said, grinning. He picked up an R-101 Compact Carbine from the table and fed it a fresh clip. He then slung a bandolier of four magazines over his chest. He then strapped on a Sidewinder grenade launcher to his back. "We fight our way through."

"But, we've never used firearms before..." Dominic said. "At least, something this complex..."

"You'll learn Dom. You too Sarah." Shin said as he picked up a brownish-sand coloured helmet with a blue visor from the ground. He fit it over his head. "Collins." he said.

"Yes sir?"

"Give these two proper gear to suit up for combat."

"Yes sir. Should I give them the disposable body armor?"

Shin shook his head. "Give them the Pilot-class Black Sparrow Combat Armor.

"Yes sir. But pardon me for asking, is there a particular reason?"

Shin chuckled as he shut the helmet piece fully over his head, now a blue light shining where his eyes should have been.

"Because today, Sarah and Dominic will be joining the ranks of the Black Sparrows."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

IMC Sergeant James Rhodes sat in the back seat of a compact four-wheeler as it rolled over the tough, crumbling terrain of the burning cityscape. He was the second-in-command of the Scouting Unit that led a convoy to scout around for Insurrects and rebels. The bumpy road sort of made his stomach queasy. Despite being doing mercenary work for the IMC for almost three years in his five year contract, he could almost never handle riding cars over terrible roads. He tapped the shoulder of the driver and said, "Can you go slower? I'm feeling sick."

The driver glanced back and said, "Sorry sir, but if we went any slower, the rebellious insurrects might be the given an opportunity to strike back. We can't let that happen. Not until the Pilots are dropped from the Odyssey."

"But we have a Pilot with us right now!" Rhodes retorted, pointing at the person sitting in the passenger seat. The individual was decked out in camouflage-style armor, something that a sniper team personnel would wear. "I'm sure he can handle the messy work. Let's go slower."

The private sitting next to Rhodes tapped his shoulder.

"What do you want Private?!" He snapped. "Can't you see that I am on verge of-"

"The Pilot is a She. Not a He, sir."

Rhodes face went pale. Not from motion-sickness. The title 'Pilot' held great weight across the ranks of the IMC. Although he didn't know what exactly the Pilots piloted, he heard of the various things that Pilots could do to kill someone silently and stealthily. He needed to stay on their good side.

"P-Pardon me for my insolence ma'am… I w-was-"

Swiftly, the Pilot drew her Longbow-DMR Sniper Rifle with one arm and rested the end of the barrel on top of Rhodes' forehead.

"Don't talk until we get there." She said, in an almost mechanized voice.

Rhodes quickly nodded and shut up. The Pilot put away her weapon and resumed looking forward. The motion-sickness had subsided and now he was terrified for his own life. Now he knew to NEVER insult a Pilot and NEVER get on their bad side.

As the car rolled along for a several more minutes, a rather large brick compound was seen in this distance. The windows were tinted black so nothing could be seen, even with high-powered binoculars. The Pilot raised her hand and motioned the convoy to stop. Rhodes gulped the lump down his throat.

As all the cars came to a stop, the Pilot got off the car and took out her rifle. She looked through the lenses on her scope as she scanned the surrounding area. Motioning her team to move forward, she waved her hand low. All the men on the cars unloaded themselves, readied their weapons, and followed after her. Rhodes, gripping his EVA-8 shotgun tightly, let out a nervous sigh. Thinking about his military career, Rhodes realized that he didn't actually participate in real combat situations.

The first time was during the combat training that had gone wrong at the IMC Training Grounds on some planet in the N'jach System. Its official location and the event was never disclosed because the IMC didn't want location of all the discreet mercenary training zones to be leaked to the general public. The fact that a major corporation like IMC had a private military was already a thing of public debate but to realize that the mercenaries-for-hire were actually flying around the systems shooting civilians were another entire matter. In fact, it wasn't even known. No one knew the IMC actually waged campaigns across the galaxy. All the accessible information that was passed around through the Interstellar Network was brought down from corporate sites and all backwater sites, even to most obscure sites on the list.

How did Rhodes know this?

Before being enlisted to the ranks of the IMC mercenaries, he was something similar to private investigator for hire. He was paid to gather dirt on major corporations and businesses that certain people wanted to get rid of. And in this case, it was the IMC. Someone, who remained anonymous much to Rhodes' dismay, offered a big sum of cash for certain information that surrounded the shady IMC. The client went by the ID: B.L.A.C.K. Of course, the client wasn't very specific and Rhodes had to do who his homework by talking with other investigators and previous IMC staff members. What he managed to uncover was unbelievable.

He found out the surplus army the IMC was making and the mechanical army they were producing as well. Hammond Robotic Industries had been making very shady deals with the IMC in the past, and this is what it had led to. An entire army of mechanical soldiers in the thousands. Also, while investigating, he managed to come across some confidential military information.

_Something about… 'Project: Titan.' _

He never managed to actually uncover that source. Some of the main corporate figureheads managed to find out that their top-secret information was finding its way into the minds of the public. And soon, Rhodes was caught by an undercover police force… Also employed by the IMC. He was faced with two choices. Face a twenty year jail sentence and endanger his entire family or sign up for a 5-year IMC military contract and get paid.

The choice was obvious.

He was enlisted into the ranks of the IMC and after two years, he became a sergeant. Despite actually not participating in many combat situations, he proved himself to be a rather versatile leader in the time of need.

When he had the chance, he would often try to find his client, the one who ordered him to gather dirt on the IMC, but to no avail. Rhodes always thought that he was good at his job in the world of espionage and disappearing, but this client was pretty damn good at it too. Rhodes never managed to back trace the Communication Link he had registered with his client nor was he able to relay the uncovered information back to him. In a way, he kind of felt cheated. If he had not accepted the contract from the client, he wouldn't be in this mess. But in a way, it felt good to know that he held the bladed pendulum over his and the IMC's neck with all the information he had uncovered. He-

"Sergeant!" The Private yelled. "You're lagging behind! C'mon, the convoy isn't going to wait for you!"

Rhodes broke from his mind and was back in the real world. He sighed, resting his hand on the grip of his shotgun. "I'm coming." He yelled back.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rhodes and his men reached the brick building a little bit later than the squad led by the Pilot. She broke from formation and diverted off to her own path, taking about three men with her, trying to get a better visual and vantage point from their to-be adversaries. The first-in-command, Commander Ryans, stepped out from cover. (There were plenty of concrete and steel plated walls in front of the compound.) Holding a voice-amplifier, he approached the compound, speaking.

"Rebels! Insurrects! Whatever you wish to be called! We know you are in there! Come out now and drop your weapons! We do not wish any bloodshed anymore on the battlefield today! So please! Release your weapons! And we will do no harm! You are all now in IMC custody!"

_Sounds like something from a handbook… Probably called "How to Not Get the Enemy to Surrender."_

There was no response.

_As expected… who the heck is going to surrender to someone who says something as long as that? _

The Captain raised the amplifier again. "This is your last warning! If you do not comply, we will use lethal force. I repeat, we will use lethal force."

Still, there was no reply.

The Captain looked over his shoulder at his subordinates. He pointed at the door, "Go knock it down."

Three men from the convoy went up to the door. Two men stood on the sides of the door while one stood in front of it. He started to kick it, trying to make it budge.

Rhodes stayed behind cover, watching from a distance. Noticing his own weapon, he knew that from where he was, he had the disadvantage. The EVA-8 was devastating at close quarters but from where he stood, he didn't stand a chance. He slung the shotgun over his back and went the side to reach for his sidearm when suddenly a gunshot rang out.

"Shots fired! We have contact! I repeat, we have contact!" The Captain yelled ducking behind cover.

Bullets started to rain from all sides as the concrete slab Rhodes hid behind started chip apart. There was one foot soldier that wasn't fast enough was met with a hail of led. Rhodes saw the man get torn to shreds. He winced at the scene, but didn't break his line of sight. He held the B3 Wingman revolver tightly in his hand as the bullets whizzed by and above his head. His breathing quickened as the adrenaline started to pump through his body.

"Sergeant!" His Private yelled to him. He was standing parallel to him, behind a separate layer of cover. "We're sitting ducks out here! You're the fastest one! We'll cover you! So, run to the front!"

"Are you kidding?!" He yelled back. "They have two Spitfire Light Machine Guns up there! What do we possibly have that will neutralize the fire rate?"

The Private then pulled out an AT-ARL, or nicknamed, The Sidewinder. Even with the big bulky helmet on his head, Rhodes could see the Private smiling devilishly.

"That weapon isn't authorized for use by common soldiers like you!" Rhodes yelled sternly.

"Does it even matter now?!" He yelled. "Just get ready to move!"

"Roger that." Rhodes said, taking a deep breath.

"On three, sergeant!" The Private yelled. "1… 2…"

"…3" Rhodes muttered to himself as he bolted up and ran for the fortified compound. Behind him, he heard the constant 'ping' sound of the Sidewinder's firing. As the small, bright rockets met their target on machine gun nest, the debris came raining down. With all the ruckus, Rhodes wasn't sure if the machine gunners had stopped firing or not. But that didn't matter. He had to get the door open. The three soldiers that were sent earlier laid dead in front of door, holes in their chests from enemy shotgun blasts. Rhodes sprinted even faster and rammed into the door with all the momentum. He felt the door's hinges break from their frame as the door toppled down.

He heard voices overhead. He realized that enemies were upstairs. Quickly, he rolled off the door and into the first floor. He quickly estimated that the compound was about four stories tall. Gripping his B3 Wingman, Rhodes quietly advance through the building. Walking down the rather dark corridor, he turned on the Tac-light on his helmet. He needed to find the stairs. Coming out of the hallway, he found a common room and a staircase that led up. He quickly approached the stairway but while he did, he stepped on top of shattered glass that was thrown on top of the floor. Of course it didn't hurt him but it was very loud.

_Oh shi-_

"Hey! We got one downstairs!" He heard a voice yell. "I'll go get him!"

Looking up quickly at the stairway, he saw a Rebel dressed in brown armor jump at him, holding metal pipe. He quickly evaded the attack but not fast enough. The Rebel insurgent managed to knock his sidearm away. He cursed to himself.

Rhodes knew he had the shotgun but that would be too loud. He had to fight hand-to-hand.

The Rebel lashed out with the pipe at him but Rhodes sidestepped the attack and grabbed the end of the pipe from the side. Then swiftly, he pulled the pipe and brought the Rebel closer to him. And when he came in range, Rhodes headbutted the man in the nose with his helmeted head with full force. As the man recoiled pain, Rhodes quickly swiped the pipe from the man's hand and struck him on the side of the head, knocking him out effectively.

All of this happened in less than ten seconds.

Still pumping with adrenaline, Rhodes picked up his revolver and began his ascent up the stairs. When he reached the second floor, two Rebels spotted him. He then threw the metal pipe at the one who stood furthest from him, catching him in the gut. The other Rebel rushed him. Rhodes then sprinted at him but when he was a mere foot away, he leapt onto the wall and landed behind the insurrect. Catching him by surprise, Rhodes grabbed the barrel of his revolver and swung the grip square into the man's head. He fell without struggle. When he turned around, he saw the metal pipe on the floor but realized that the Rebel had disappeared. Then, an alarm blared inside the corridor from where he stood. He cursed aloud.

He ran down the hallway as fast as he could. But when he was close to the end of it, he was met with cold, metal butt of rifle to the head. Disoriented and almost knocked out, Rhodes made out an outline of a Rebel standing before him with a rifle in his arms. Rhodes knew that he no longer held anyone of his weapons on himself. The metal pipe rolled away and he knew that his sidearm was clattered away somewhere. He thought about reaching for his shotgun but he realized that he had crushed it when fell flat on his back. The only thing that waited for him was bullet to the brain.

He faced his executioner who seemed to be a bit too short to be a Rebel. Then the Rebel came up to him and Rhodes expected a gun to head. Instead, the Rebel reached out his hand.

"Here. C'mon get up." The Rebel said.

Rhodes was bewildered. He thought he was going to die. But instead of dying, his executioner had become his savior. He slowly took the hand, still dizzy from the blow. He got up steadily, still a bit wobbly.

The Rebel slung the rifle, which was a Hemlok BF-R, over his shoulder and walked over behind Rhodes, reaching down. He picked up Rhodes' sidearm and gave it back to him.

Rhodes took the weapon back.

"Come on. Shin wants to have a word with you." The Rebel said, walking down the corridor.

"Uh… Who?" Rhodes asked. Rhodes looked carefully at the Rebel who had taken off his helmet. He had light blue eyes and light brown hair. It struck him then. This Rebel, who had knocked him down to his back, was a mere child if not a teenager. It almost felt embarrassing.

"The leader of the Black Sparrows, Shin." The boy said again.

"Oh." Rhodes said, nodding his head. "I've heard of them before. One of the more notorious raiding marauders… How long have you been with them?"

"First day." The boy said, re-slinging his rifle. He seemed uncomfortable with it.

"Really?" Rhodes asked. "No shit?"

The boy nodded. "No shit… Name's Dominic by the way."

"Rhodes. James Rhodes." Rhodes replied. _I've always wanted to say that line.._

They stopped in front of a door.

"Here we are." Dominic said. "Shin is waiting for you inside."

Rhodes took a breath. He opened the door and inside was a young man, probably the same age as him, standing by a fortified window, hands pocketed. He was dressed in brown-black Pilot-class armor and his helmet was on the table behind him. The man glanced behind his shoulder and saw Rhodes standing in the doorway and he grinned.

"So you're still alive…" The man, who was called Shin, said. "It was lucky for me to hire you, Rhodes."

"What?" Rhodes asked, unable to understand. "I'm afraid I don't follow you sir."

Shin then pulled a chair from the table and sat down. "Don't give me the Military-respect crap. I've heard it all before. Never really liked it."

"Regardless… Shin was it?" Rhodes asked. "What are you talking about?"

Shin scratched the back of his head, chuckling briefly. "Oh, I forgot to mention. Do you remember the Callsign ID B.L.A.C.K?"

"Of course I do…" Rhodes said. "Wait… you can't be serious…"

"I appreciate the research you got for us." Shin said, smirking.

"I never got to relay the information back to you." Rhodes said, feeling slightly glum.

Shin shook his head. "Do you think I would give up that easy? I heard from several of your other sources that the IMC got to you first. So I simply went to the place you lived and retrieved all of your documents and investigation reports. I was planning on meeting you in person to hire you again. Not for more investigative work but for something else."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Have you ever wanted to kick the IMC back in the ass after what they forced you to do?"

Rhodes chuckled. And then laughed out loud.

"Oh… you have no idea…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sarah took out the empty magazine in her RE-45 Auto-Pistol. After feeding it a fresh clip, she kept the weapon trained on the cloud of smoke that rested on the small battlefield. All weapons that had fired seconds before had subsided, giving a feeling a sense of uneven calm.

Dominic ran up behind her and crouched down next to her with his rifle armed and ready.

"You took longer than I thought." Sarah said. "What took you so long? Were you afraid?"

Dominic scoffed. "Shin wanted me to do something."

"What exactly?" She asked.

"There was an IMC operative that actually worked for Shin in the past." Dominic said. "Shin wanted me to go get him and see if he still wanted to work for him."

"So we're keeping one of these bastards alive?" Sarah asked, malice in her voice. "After what we saw them do to Hyun and-"

"Sarah." Dominic said sternly, prompting Sarah to be quiet.

"Do you think you are the only that is mad at these people?" Dominic snapped. "Look, I know Hyun was killed by those people today. I'm not mad. I am furious. If I can get my hands on the people that killed Hyun I will not hesitate to pull the trigger. However, that doesn't mean we can go around killing everyone that pertains to them. That won't justify Hyun's death. No. Far from it."

"Won't justify?!" Sarah exclaimed. "Dominic, these people are our enemy!"

"Really? Just because they are our enemy, doesn't give us or anyone else the right to kill all of them."

"But they killed tens if not hundreds of people today. People who live in this colony!"

Dominic was quiet for a moment. "You wanna know something?"

"What?!" Sarah barked.

"That man, Rhodes, was knocked onto the ground by me. I hit him squarely in the face with my rifle. When I approached him, the look on his eyes was pure fear. He was afraid of dying and I saw it with my own eyes."

"Why didn't you just kill him?"

"Orders from Shin, you idiot." Dominic said.

"Ch." Sarah said, spitting on the ground.

"Anyway, I helped him up and I handed him back his sidearm. I know. In that moment, he had every right to kill me and he had chance to pull the trigger. But he didn't. That's saying something. Not everyone in the IMC is bad. As childish as my speculation seems, it is true. That man could have overpowered me but he didn't. He and I are enemies but I spared him and he returned the favor. That's saying something."

Sarah sighed, shaking her head. "Dominic, I-I…"

"Anyone there?" A voice called out. From behind the smoke.

"Who's there?" Axel asked. He was an African Black Sparrow sniper specialist. He raised his rifle. Dominic and Sarah followed suit.

As the smoke slowly cleared, there was an IMC soldier who was unarmed. He approached them, arms raised. Dominic looked at the man's shoulder and saw that he held the rank of a Private.

"Anyone out there with you that we can't see?" Dominic asked, still pointing his Hemlok at him.

"N-no…" The man said, his voice choking up. "E-everyone else is dead… I'm the only left alive."

"Axel." Dominic said, looking at him.

Looking through the thermal scope on his rifle, Axel looked behind the man and beyond. "No one's there. He's telling us the truth."

"Alright," Dominic said, "Approach us, nice and slowly. No sudden moves."

"Before I do," The soldier said, "is Sergeant Rhodes alive?"

"Who?" Sarah asked.

"The sergeant." The soldier said again. "He ran into the building earlier… and I-I didn't see him come back out… Is he dead?"

"No." Dominic said, shaking his head. "He's still alive."

"Oh thank God!" The man said. "Is he going to be released?"

"Soon." Dominic said, "But he isn't going to go back."

"Go back?" The man asked. "What do you mean?"

"Sergeant Rhodes" Dominic said, "Is no longer a Sergeant in the IMC military. He has defected."

"Wh-what?!" The man exclaimed, walking towards Dominic. "What the hell happened?"

Sarah raised her hand gun and pointed it at the man. "No sudden moves. Walk slower."

Dominic glanced at Sarah. "Put the gun down Sarah."

"Dominic, I-"

"NOW."

Sarah scowled as she put down her gun and holstered it. She then walked towards the man and went past him.

Dominic then faced the man again as Sarah disappeared from view. "What happened to Rhodes was that he never wanted to be in the IMC and wants to get back at them."

"Then can we negotiate something?" The man asked. "Could I possibly join you people?"

"Well…" Dominic said, looking at Axel who merely shrugged at him. "I think we could come to terms with something."

The man sighed with relief, "Ah, that's great, I- arghh!"

There was a red mist that exploded into the air as a bullet exited out of the man's left side, blowing chucks of flesh off of his torso. The man was thrown several feet forward, clutching his left side.

Dominic and Axel quickly fell behind cover.

"Wh-what the hell was that?!" Dominic yelled to Axel.

"I didn't shoot him if that's what you are asking Dominic!" Axel yelled back. "There's an enemy sniper out there… and he's damn good."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't meant to be a kill shot." Axel said, pointing towards the man on the ground who was writhing in pain. "It was meant to incapacitate him and grab our attention… damn fine move…"

Soon, they heard footsteps approach them. Then they heard them stop. Axel and Dominic exchanged glances before, sprouting from their cover spots, weapons armed. In front of them stood a woman garbed in some strange camouflaged combat armor. She had a long sniper rifle slung behind her and she held someone with a bag over her head at gunpoint. She was holding an RE-45 Auto-Pistol.

"Who are you?!" Axel yelled. "What do you want?!"

"I'm here for the Core Drive." She said in a cold voice.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Axel asked. "What Core Drive?"

"Don't play dumb with me you insurrects." She said. "Give me the Core Drive and I let her go."

"Wait…" Dominic said. Who?"

The woman took the bag of the hostages head.

Dominic's jaw dropped.

"SARAH!"

She was gagged, tears flowing from her eyes which were filled with fear and terror.

Dominic raised his Hemlok rifle. "Let her go!"

"Do you have any idea what you are actually aiming at?" The woman said. "No, didn't think so… and now since you don't have the Core Drive, I guess I'll be taking this girl with me."

"NO!" Dominic said, running at the woman.

"Ah ah ah~" She said, holding the pistol towards Sarah's head. "One more step, and she's dead."

Dominic gritted his teeth.

"Put your weapon down." The woman said. "You too, dark skin."

Axel and Dominic both put their weapons on the ground, albeit reluctantly.

"And now." She said. "Until I get away from this compound, you two aren't going move from where you are."

Dominic gripped his fists tightly, unable to do anything.

"No sudden moves, or she gets it."

Dominic saw that Sarah was trying to resist the woman's grip on her. She was trying to stand her ground by embedding her heels into the ground.

"You're too troublesome to deal with when you're awake." The woman said, and she quickly used the grip of the handgun to hit Sarah in the head. She yelped briefly before getting knocked unconscious.

"You crazy bitch!" Dominic screamed as he reached down for his rifle.

"Dominic, no!" Axel yelled.

But it was too late. Dominic quickly grabbed his Hemlock and shot a three round burst at the woman. The first bullet knocked the woman's gun out of her hand. The second bullet went through her hand and the third bullet imbedded itself into her arm. The woman grunted in pain as she swung Sarah over her shoulder and made a run for it.

Dominic ran after her only to realize that the woman had wall jumped into a dropship that appeared out of nowhere. He saw the woman put Sarah down on the ship and strap her down. The woman stared down at Dominic before the dropship flew away.

Dominic threw this rifle on the ground as he fell to his hands and knees, screaming aloud.

"GOD DAMN IT! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!"

Shin and Rhodes suddenly appeared in the doorway, dumbfounded.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Shin asked. "We heard a shot."

Axel turned to him and said, "There was a pilot. A female one. She gunned down one of the IMC soldiers and held Sarah hostage"

"Shit." Rhodes said. He then looked over Axel's shoulder and saw the Private laying there.

"Oh fuck, Nils!" He said, reaching for him. "Shit!"

"He was shot by the female pilot." Axel said.

"That bitch…" Rhodes said, checking on the barely breathing solider. "Nils is still alive! Shin quick! Do you have a medic?!"

Shin looked at Axel. "Help him take the man inside, I'm going to talk with Dom."

"Will do." Axel said, helping Rhodes carry the injured man indoors.

Shin walked over to Dominic who had his face buried beneath his arms.

"Get up Dominic." Shin said to him.

Dominic did as he was told. His face was red, burning with anger.

"I'm going to kill her." He said. "I am going to kill her again and again."

"Calm down Dom." Shin said.

"How can I calm down?! My best friend was killed and the other closest friend I have just got taken hostage, how the hell can I be calm."

"Relax Dominic. Now, tell me what happened. Everything."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Axel carried the wounded Private Nils into the common room were several of the wounded lay. Rhodes got a table and cleared everything on top of it.

"Quick, lay him here!" Rhodes said.

Axel did as he was told. He gently laid the wounded man on top of the wooden table.

Rhodes put his ear by the man's heart. "I can hear it beating but it is weak."

He looked around the common room. "Is anyone here trained in first aid?!"

"I am." A man said, standing up from the couch in the common room.

Rhodes looked at him and the blue-purple bruise on the man's nose. "You…"

"Don't worry about it." The man said, pointing at this nose. "Shin already explained everything to me. Let's check up on him."

Rhodes stood back and saw the man check up on Nils. He then turned around and told the other people to gather some things. The man then turned to face Rhodes.

"The bullet cleanly exited his ribcage. No bullet fragments or any ruptured organs. However, he does need an immediate blood transfusion. He's lost a lot of blood."

Rhodes tore off his sleeve. "I'll do it. I'm responsible for him."

"Wait, what blood type are you and him?"

"He's the 'Universal Recipient.' I'm the 'Universal Donor.'"

"Perfect." The man said. "Axel, do me favor and get the medical supplies from the cabinet on the second floor."

Axel nodded and ran off.

The man quickly pulled out a syringe and plunged it into Rhodes' arm. Rhodes winced in pain but withstood it. After pulling some blood out, the syringe displayed 'Type O-Negative.'

"You ever save a life before Sarge?" The man asked.

"No, not really.

"Well, congratulations." The man said as everyone else bolted down the stairs with medical supplies and equipment. "Because you are going to."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shin opened the doors to the compound. Behind him followed Dominic who had calmed down to say the least. His mood and face was both sour and in a scowl. Although that would be an understatement.

"How's the man doing?" Shin asked, setting his carbine down against the wall.

The man with the broken nose turned to Shin, wiping his hands on a rag. "Well, we got him in a stable condition. Give him some proper medication and some time, he'll be back in shape in no time."

"Alright." Shin said, "Good job Carver. I'll leave that man in your capable hands."

Carver nodded. "With pleasure."

Rhodes stood up from the leather couch, arm bandaged. "So what's the plan?"

Shin looked at Dominic, who remained silent, and turned to Rhodes. "Well, Dominic and I came up with something."

"Which is?"

"Judging from the direction where the dropship went, I'd say that it made its way back to the inner city of the Colony. The first site of the attack."

Rhodes folded his arms. "Alright, so what do you suggest?"

"Well," Shin said, walking around the room. "I've lost contact with most of the other Black Sparrows. As of now, we are to presume that we are the only ones left. Other contributors to the rebellion are scattered too. They are either dead or hiding."

"So where does that leave us?" Axel asked.

"We only have one thing left to do."

"Which is?"

Shin looked at everyone with a devilish smile. "We take back the city."

"You crazy son of a bitch…" Axel muttered. "How the hell are we going to manage that?"

"IMC protocol." Shin said. "If the IMC can't find whatever they are looking for, they clean up and leave. To them, this never happened. It's been several hours or more. I'd say that the IMC is going to be departing soon. I say let's give them a goodbye with a twist."

"And I'm with him." Dominic said, his voice solemn and full of contempt. "I mean to get some payback… and find Sarah and Adrian."

"Wait a minute." Rhodes said, pointing at Shin. "How do you know all that? I was with the IMC and I don't know a damn thing about this whole protocol business."

"It doesn't matter." Shin said. "What matters is that we get to the IMC and send them off with a bang."

"I agree." Dominic said.

"But how the hell are we gonna pull this off?" Axel asked. "I'm with you but… damn… we are going against some heavy shit when we go at the IMC."

"How much able-bodied people do we have?" Shin asked.

"Not many." Carver said. "We lost Eliza and Trevor. Ai is going out of commission for a while. Jezreel is in no condition to be walking. Collins was shot in the gut and is still comatose. Anton lost his leg. I am a damn mess and I have to watch to the wounded."

"Damn it." Shin growled.

"Axel, Dom, Rhodes and you are the only ones who can move around and about."

Shin thought for a moment. "Axel, you stay here and hold the fort. Help Carver with anything and everything until we get back, you hear?"

"This is suicide, Shin. Even for you." Axel said.

"Just do as I say alright? We'll be back soon enough."

Axel nodded reluctantly and went to assist Carver who was already tending the wounded.

Shin turned to Rhodes and Dominic.

"Follow me." He said. "We'll need a method of transportation."

Walking down the corridor and turning left, Shin opened the door to a dark yet spacious room that echoed with their footsteps. After everyone had come in, he flicked the switch on the wall. Dominic and Rhodes were both astonished.

Inside the compartment room were five giant, lanky steel mechs. Despite having a thin frame, they looked powerful. Their skeletal frame and black and brown paint job gave them a ghastly and menacing appearance. They were Titans.

"They're only prototypes." Shin said, grinning. "But they'll get the job done."

He picked up three ignition keys and handed two to Rhodes and Dominic.

"Ready up. I think it's about time the Black Sparrows made an entrance."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A highly decorated officer in high, black, steel-tipped boots walked on the wrecked shuttle platform, the wreckage of the last and previous flight burning in the distance. On the cracked platform were many people, all bound and tied down. The officer, arms folded behind his back, paced back and for on the platform, an amused look on his face.

"It was a valiant effort… but such an organized militia such as yourselves will never match up to the technical and sophisticated superiority of the IMC." The officer said. "It's a sad but true fact."

"No." A bound man said. "What's sad is that IMC has nothing better to do other than invade Frontier Colonies out of pure private interest. And here we have a jack-off-of-an-officer barking nonexistent bullshit with nothing better to do than waste our time."

The officer quickly turned to the man that spoke. In a swift motion, the officer backhanded the man with full force. The man was hit hard but stood his ground.

"And such is the insolence of Frontier Colonists." The officer snarled. "You ungrateful savages should be thankful that the IMC didn't wipe out everyone living here! We could have done that you fools!"

The man spat on the ground. "No, what you could have done was leave us alone."

"Silence!" The officer screamed at the man. Then, he ran his gloved hand through his own thinning gray hair and composed himself. With an unnerving grin and expression on his face, he turned to face the bound civilians again.

"Now, if all you people could cooperate, everything would be so much more easier." The officer said in icy, calm voice. "Just tell us where the Advanced Core Drive is and we'll be on our way."

The man glared back up at the officer. "I told you. You are wasting your time."

"Oh?" The officer said, a mock-confused look on his face. "Am I? How about I provide some incentive?"

He whistled for his men. And soon, they brought forward a girl, wearing torn combat armor, scars and burns lining her face. She wore a red headband that had specks of dirt sprinkled over.

"Sarah!" The man exclaimed as the IMC troops dragged her onto the platform. "Wh-what did they do to you?!"

"They didn't touch her, Arlot." The officer said calmly. "But that doesn't mean they won't later…"

"You bastard…" Arlot said behind gritted teeth. "Leave her out of this! She's innocent!"

The officer laughed maniacally. "Innocent?! Far from it! Can't you see what she is wearing?!"

"Th-that's… Black Sparrow gear…"

"Exactly!" The officer said. "She also killed several men that were in a convoy I sent to suppress the Black Sparrow outpost by the border. If anything, she is guilty of murdering IMC personnel in cold blood."

"Guilty?!" Arlot yelled. "You bastards come to this colony and murder nearly hundreds of civilians but when a civilian kills several IMC troops in self-defense, it's murder?!"

"I said silence!" The officer said, punching the man in the jaw. The crowd of bound civilians gasped.

"Daddy!" Sarah exclaimed.

Arlot spat blood at the officer's feet. "You aren't going to get anything out of me…"

The officer shrugged and mused off. "Alright. Have it your way then. Pilot, got get the rustiest data-knife you can find. We'll see if we get the girl to say anything."

"What?!" Arlot yelled, looking at the officer with disbelief. "I told you! She doesn't know anything!"

"Yes." The officer said. "We established that. But you do. So what is it going to be, Arlot? Is that Core Drive really worth your daughter's life?"

"D-daddy please…" Sarah whimpered, an IMC pilot holding a knife to her throat.

"You bastard…" Arlot muttered.

"Don't do it Arlot." A man said from the crowd. "It's not worth it."

"Not worth it?!" Arlot screamed. "She's my daughter! You'd do the same for Adrian and Dominic!"

"No." The voice said again. "They'd understand."

"No they wouldn't! They're childre-"

"What is it going to be?!" The officer yelled.

"I… I…"

Arlot glanced back into the crowd and saw Aiden's face. His eyes pleaded to Arlot, to say no. but Arlot knew what he had to do.

"I'll tell you…" He whispered.

"Ah!" The officer exclaimed. "Thank you! Now we are finally getting somewhere! And now, tell me, where is it?"

"It's… it's in the Black Sparrow outpost by the borderlands." Arlot said, shaking.

"Thank you Arlot." The officer said, reaching for his pocket. "You have done us a great service…"

Arlot was looking down and he slowly looked up. Only to find a cold, silver-gray cylinder pressed against his face.

"And here's your reward."

The officer pulled the trigger and a shower of rain exploded outward. Arlot crumpled to the ground without a sound and his face landed in full view of Sarah… or what was left of it.

"NO!" Sarah screamed. "DADDY NO!"

The officer blew the smoke away from the barrel of his gun and holstered it. He ordered the pilot holding Sarah to bind and her and her with the rest of the prisoners. He then proceeded to walk off the shuttle platform with a several IMC soldiers. As he walked down the dirt road, another officer walked to join him.

"Ah, Marcus." The officer said, cheerfully. "I wondered when you were going to show up…"

"You didn't have to kill him, deFranco." Marcus Graves said. "He could have been a valuable asset to us."

"I don't need to take any lip from you Captain Graves." deFranco said coldly. "Know your rank, Captain."

"Yes, Fleet Admiral." Graves said.

deFranco stopped and pulled out a cigar. He quickly lit it and puffed a cloud of sweet smoke. "Get cleaned up here Marcus. I want the IMC forces heading back towards Demeter System. We have some coordinating to do there."

"Yes sir. I will have MacAllan prepare the Odyssey soon."

"No" deFranco said, shaking his head. "I will take the Odyssey with me. Your Executive Officer MacAllan showed some insolence and I intend to discipline him on the way back to Demeter. You may take the Longsword back to Demeter."

"Yes sir." Graves said. "But over what exactly did MacAllan show disrespect on?"

"Treatment to civilians." deFranco said, breathing the cigar in again. "That boy's got a soft spot for civvies. And I intend to eradicate that emotion… Go and prepare the Longsword."

"Yes sir. But what about the civilians?"

"Line them up outside the city walls."

Graves nodded.

"And kill them all."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Can you see what they are doing?" Shin asked, sitting on top of his sentient Titan, rifle in hand.

Rhodes shook his head as he lowered his high-powered-binoculars. "All I can see is that two IMC carriers are ready for departure. Three dropships are at the ready. And the IMC soldiers are lining up the civilians by the city wall."

Shin looked surprised. "I've never seen them do that before… According to IMC protocol…"

Dominic and Rhodes both looked at Shin and each other, alarmed. "W-what's wrong, Shin?"

Suddenly, Shin's face turned pale. "deFranco." He whispered to himself. He quickly went back into his Titan.

"Hey!" Dominic said as he climbed back into his Titan. "Who is this deFranco?"

The earpiece plugged into Dominic's ear rang to life. It was Shin's voice. "deFranco is a terrible men responsible for atrocious crimes… He's here. I know it."

As Dominic booted his Titan's systems to kick in, he said, "What. Is he with IMC?"

"Leader of Military branch." Rhodes answered. "I know that much."

"Shit."

"Let's move." Rhodes said. "Maybe we can catch these bastards by surprise… But do you have any idea on what this deFranco guy plans on doing?"

All three Titans came to life and moved swiftly across the grassy plain towards the city.

"He's going to kill them all." Shin said.

"Are you kidding me…" Dominic muttered.

"Then we better move faster." Rhodes said. "Any idea on how to make these things go faster?"

"Core Drive switch." Shin said. "It's by your right control stick."

Dominic looked over his right hand and saw the bright red switch that was situated along the border end of the display screen. "Found it."

"When we activate these, we will be more detectable." Shin said.

"Does it matter?" Dominic said. "We're going to send the IMC off with a bang."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Shin said over the Communications Link.

As they all switched the Core Drives on, their Titans whirred with intensity. Then, the basic thrust forward became exhilarating. Dominic realized he was moving so fast, the high motion display monitor was getting blurry.

"Cut the chatter." Rhodes said. "Look at your radar on the display screen. We got three red blips moving toward us at high speed."

"We've got company…" Shin muttered.

"Do you know what they are?" Dominic asked.

"If they show on the radar," Shin said. "They are probably enemy Titans if not dropships."

"Wait, the IMC have Titans as well?!" Dominic exclaimed.

"Well, aren't you a slow one…" Rhodes said.

"Luckily, these prototypes come equipped." Shin said. "Press the switch above the Core Drive."

Dominic did as he was told. When he did, his Titan's right arm opened up and a thick barrel with grooves extended out. An ammo crate opened beneath middle of the weapon as the ammo chains linked into the chamber. His Titan's left arm became a long, sharp chainsaw-blade. Then, a female mechanized voice played over Dominic's earpiece:

Combat Mode Initiated

Dominic looked at his display screen and a new Heads-Up-Display appeared. A mini-map appeared at the top left corner and six teal-blue bars appeared with six more thin bars layered on top. At the lower right corner, an ammo count meter was displayed. Dominic's Titan brought the cannon-like weapon close on the HUD, giving a First-Person-Perspective.

Looking at his radar, Dominic saw the three red blips closing in.

"There!" Rhodes yelled over the CommLink. "On top of that ledge!"

Dominic looked up and saw three heavy-set Titans jump off from the crumbling cliff side and in front of them. They each held identical weapons and looked identical to one another. The Titans looked new too, as if recently manufactured at processing plant.

The earpiece ringed again:

You are outnumbered. Three incoming enemy Titans. Advise using caution when approaching.

"Dominic." Shin said over the CommLink.

"What is it?" Dominic asked, his voice filling with urgency.

"Rhodes and I will take care of these guys." Shin said. "Go for the civvies."

"You sure?" Dominic asked, worried.

Dominic heard Shin laugh over the radio. "I've dealt with this kind of crap before. Leave it to us. Now get going!"

"Okay. Got it." Dominic replied.

Dominic switched the Core Booster back on and felt the Titan hum back to life. He heard engines whirring. Gripping the controls tightly, Dominic thrust forward.

The Titan literally flew forward at breakneck speed. Dominic felt the gravity push against him. As he looked at the display screen, he saw that a red dot was chasing him on the radar.

_Shit…_

"Shin." Dominic said over the CommLink. "One of the enemy Titans broke formation and went after me. I don't know why but I'm losing distance."

The Commlink cracked back to life. "Yeah, I saw him veer off. But Rhodes and I kind of stuck for the moment. We gotta deal with these two assholes…"

"Damn it." Dominic said. "What should I do?"

The CommLink buzzed with static.

"Shin! Damn it, answer me!"

"…Losing signal… Put on…"

The line went dead.

The Titan acknowledged the dead signal.

_Shoot._

Dominic pulled back on the controls, skidding his Titan to a halt. From his display monitor, he saw all the dirt and debris being kicked up into the air. The red blip was several hundred feet behind him. Dominic turned his Titan around. He had left quite a cloud of dust behind him. It fogged up his display monitor. Suddenly, the Titan's automated voice activated again.

"Display fogged due to debris. Activating motion-heat camera."

The display screen changed. The screen turned blue with blobs of the occasional red tumbling across. It was an infrared display. Dominic looked at the monitor carefully and saw a large reddish orange figure that was getting closer to him.

It was the enemy Titan.

"Target located." The automated voice said. "Locking on."

Dominic saw a pair of red crosshairs lining up to the red figure that was getting even closer. Soon, all red spokes of the crosshairs lined up together.

"Target acquired."

Dominic looked next to his left analog lever. An orange button encased in a plastic lift-shield was blinking on and off. Dominic opened the plastic and put his finger on the button. The target was getting even closer.

"Enemy Titan. 345 feet away."

Dominic waited.

"Enemy Titan. 215 feet away."

Dominic felt the sweat go down his back.

"Enemy Titan. 130 feet away. Optimal firing range in next motion."

Dominic let out heaved sigh.

This was it.

"Enemy Titan. 50 feet away. Maximum damage range acquired."

Dominic pressed the button.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"No. This isn't right." James MacAllan said, shaking his head.

"Executive Officer!" deFranco yelled. "This is an order from your Fleet Admiral! Disobey and you will be dishonorably discharged!"

"An order?!" MacAllan said. "You are ordering me and the entire IMC unit here to open fire on a group of unarmed civilians!"

deFranco scoffed as he straightened out his military coat. "These 'civilians', as you call them, are actually all members of an insurrection group that resisted the IMC. They are also hiding vital intel and have stolen confidential military prototypes!"

"So does that justify killing hundreds of people?! Some who may be innocent?!"

deFranco shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Tell that to your brother."

MacAllan rushed to deFranco and gripped his collar, lifting him up from the ground slightly. Several IMC operatives gasped while others simply stared in shock.

"I told you. NEVER talk about HIM in front of ME."

deFranco looked unfazed. "Let go of me Executive Officer."

MacAllan gritted his teeth, still grabbing the Fleet Admiral's collar.

An IMC pilot came to MacAllan and put his hand on James' shoulder.

"Let him go James." He said. He had a South African accent.

Still gritting his teeth, MacAllan let go of him, sighing.

"You're a criminal…" MacAllan muttered under his breath.

deFranco straightened out the newly formed creases in his collar. "The real criminals are the ones who don't listen to their superiors and diverge onto the other paths… similar to these insurgents…"

MacAllan hung his head low, cursing underneath his breath.

deFranco went to a different IMC mercenary and ordered him, "Get rid of them."

The soldier nodded.

deFranco walked towards a car and boarded it. Several other IMC higher-ups got into the vehicle as well. And soon enough, they drove away.

Seeing them out of sight, MacAllan stood back up straight. "I'm not doing this" he said.

"James." The pilot from earlier said. "Orders are orders. We have to follow them..."

MacAllan threw his weapon to the ground. "Are they really?"

"I mean…" The pilot stuttered. "The reason we joined the IMC was-"

"No." MacAllan interjected. "This was not what I signed up for… I signed up to find him… not kill innocent people, Blisk."

"Regardless!" The Pilot, Blisk, said. "If the Fleet Admiral gave direct orders, our duty is to follow it to the letter!"

"What if it was your son out in this civilian group Blisk?" MacAllan countered.

"No." Blisk said. "That would never happen to him. He is recognized as-"

"How many parents out here do you think said that to their own children? That nothing would happen to them? Just like you? You have to realize that at times, you can't keep your word. But when you can make a choice on saving a life or disposing of one, that's when it counts."

Blisk's face fell. He sighed.

"Come on Blisk." MacAllan said. "I know you aren't like this…"

Blisk raised his head, his eyes darkened. "Orders are orders James. I won't stop you from not killing these people, but you won't be able to stop me."

"Blisk, please!"

"I've made my decision. And so have you." Blisk said. "Let the other men decide."

MacAllan looked around at the men he fought alongside with. They all looked confused as well. They did the same thing MacAllan was doing. Looking at their fellow comrades to see what their decisions would be.

In the end, the choice was split half and half. One half sided with MacAllan while the other aligned themselves with Blisk.

"It's settled then." Blisk said. He pointed towards the leftover cars on the bumpy dirt road. "Take them and get back to the Carrier. We'll be back."

MacAllan didn't say a word. He led his men and marched on over to the cars and boarded them. MacAllan gave one last glance at Blisk who returned one as well. He then turned away and focused on the road.

It was then that MacAllan realized something. Something in his mind suddenly clicked to life. As he drove, one profound thought remained in his head.

_And now… the Odyssey_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rhodes dug his Titan's fist into the cockpit of his adversary's Titan. His Titan then wrapped its metal fingers around the unlucky Pilot inside the mech. Pulling the struggling figure out of the wreckage, Rhodes saw that it was the female Pilot from earlier that had kidnapped Sarah and put a bullet in Nils. Punching the wreckage away, Rhodes pulled Pilot free. He opened up his cockpit, and stood on the edge of his seat, looking at the bloodied Pilot.

"Well, well, well." Rhodes said, boorishly. "What do you know?... A common foot soldier like has just kicked the ass of a so called 'Pilot.'"

Behind her cracked visor, the Pilot glared at Rhodes. "Put me down, now." She barked.

"No, no, no." Rhodes scoffed. "After you put a bullet in my nephew, I think it's about time I returned the favor."

The Pilot gritted her now visible teeth as her helmet fell apart. "I hope he died slowly." She spat.

Rhodes chuckled. "Sorry to burst your little imagination, but he's alive and well."

The Pilot's eyes widened.

"Thanks to the guy standin' in front of ya." Rhodes added.

Rhodes outstretched his right arm, pointing it at the female Pilot. Then, he curved his hand into a half-open fist. He saw the Pilot struggle as the Titan tightened its grip on her body.

"Now die."

Rhodes clenched his hand into a fist and the Titan followed suit.

A chunky red spray flew around him and the open Titan cockpit. Wiping his face with his left hand, Rhodes opened his fist. He then heard the fleshy remains from the Titan's hand fall to the ground and splatter the immediate area.

"God damn, Rhodes." Shin said, opening his cockpit and throwing an unlucky Pilot out of his own. "You took it all the way with the whole 'revenge' thing, didn't you?"

Rhodes stared at his current blood-stained self in disgust. "Yeah… I am kind of reconsidering what I did… God I smell horrible…"

"That's gonna take a while to scrub off… the blood…" Shin said, standing up and scratching his head. The Titan followed his movements. Shin was amused. "Well, these neural connections are working pretty well, considering that they are prototypes."

"Aye." Rhodes said, pointing at the headband he was wearing. "It felt pretty natural… Hopefully Dominic did the same, noticing the lack of signal and all."

"Shit." Shin said, settling back into his seat. "We better get moving. deFranco waits for no one."

"Copy that." Rhodes said.

"It's about time we crashed this little party of his."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Come on, come on, come on!" Dominic screamed to himself.

His Titan had sustained major damage against his enemy earlier. He had fired the homing rocket barrage way to close for safety concerns and forgot that his Titan was something of skeleton compared to his adversary's. The enemy Titan withstood the massive damage and still came after him, despite being engulfed in flames. Then, the Titan had delivered a solid blow with a punch to the cockpit. It had disoriented the display systems and knocked all balancing systems astray. Head-pounding, Dominic trust his Titan's saw blade forward into his enemy's right arm, cutting it off and knocking the weapon aside. The enemy then grabbed the saw arm and tore it off after much tugging. Dominic's Titan fell onto its left leg, cracking and breaking some of the frame work with the shields disabled. The Titan had then alerted him the Dash Core Drive was active. Taking advantage of his situation, Dominic's Titan dashed forward to the enemy Titan and fed it with a dozen tons of lead from the cannon. With a satisfying explosion, the enemy went down.

Dominic had just heard the Titan blare an alarm over his head. The red-spiral alarm system turned on, lighting the cockpit in a red light.

"What?!" Dominic exclaimed. "What now?!"

The metalized voice crackled back to life. "Titan is… all systems failing… ject eject."

"What?!"

Then, Dominic saw an encased switch in front of him flip open. The box around the button was striped yellow and black, almost like a hazard sign. The button, which was red, started to blink. Desperate, Dominic brought his fist down on the button. Then, with a blow of steam, a lever extended itself from beneath the cockpit seat. Dominic looked at the lever and then looked back at the display screen. There was a vitals sign on the screen and it was depleting rapidly. Putting his hands on the lever and holding it tightly, Dominic pulled on it.

Dominic was catapulted through his Titan's cockpit and about 30 feet into the air from the seat of the Titan. Still attached to the seat, Dominic quickly unbuckled the seat belt and look below to only see his Titan blow up into smithereens. Shielding himself from the blinding light, Dominic put his hands in front of his face. As he did, he forgot to grab onto the now-ejected seat.

_Oh shit!_

Falling away from his seat, Dominic now fell at full velocity to the ground. His mind raced. He remembered several times where he and his friends would jump from rooftop to rooftop in the town central. He then remembered one time when his friend miscalculated his jump and fell to the ground from about four stories. The sickening crack replayed through his head. It made him shudder.

And now it was going to happen to him.

Preparing for the worst, Dominic positioned his body as he was falling to allow the shock to disperse evenly throughout his body instead of one concentrated area. Only several feet away from the ground, Dominic braced for impact.

Instead of having every bone in his body shattered, Dominic felt himself land softly onto the dirt ground. Amazed, Dominic stiffly brought himself up and checked himself, just in case. Nothing was broken, maybe an occasional bruise here or there, but nothing too severe.

"Thank God…" Dominic muttered to himself.

There was a ground-shaking thud behind Dominic and he quickly turned around to see two Titans standing behind him, scathed from their previous battles. From one of the Titans, Dominic saw Shin stand up from the cockpit. He was smirking.

"Well…" Shin began to say. "You did manage to take out a Pilot-Class IMC soldier… and you also managed to demolish that Prototype Titan I lent you

"Oh shut up." Dominic grumbled.

Shin chuckled. "Need a lift?"

"Is that even a question?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What do you see?" Shin said through the CommLink as he piloted his Titan. Dominic sat on the hull of the Titan and rode along.

Dominic, looking through the high-powered binoculars, gritted his teeth. "The IMC are lining the civilians up for execution. Damn it! Can this thing go any faster?!"

"Calm down Dom." Rhodes said over the mic. "Keep a clear head. Do you see Sarah in the crowd?"

Dominic let out an agonized sigh as he looked back into the binoculars. "I don't see her."

He scanned the area to see a girl with tied back hair in brown-black combat armor. With hundreds, maybe thousands, of people huddled together, he couldn't see her.

Then, Dominic saw an IMC solider go into the crowd and pull out a person. The IMC soldier dragged her out by the person's hair. Upon closer inspection, Dominic saw that this person was wearing combat armor.

"Shit, it's Sarah!" Dominic yelled over the mic.

"What?!" Shin exclaimed, dumbfounded. "I thought you couldn't see her?"

"Some IMC operative pulled her out by her hair!" Dominic said behind gritted teeth. "Now he is holding her at gunpoint."

"Damn." Shin said in a low voice. "What direction is he in?"

"Your eleven o' clock." Dominic said.

"Alright. Dominic, hang on." Shin said over the mic. Dominic heard several switches being flipped in the backdrop of sound. "This ride is about to get a little bumpy."

"How far are we from her position?" Dominic asked desperately.

"Several hundred yards Dom. Hold on." Shin said.

"There is no time to hold on!" Dominic said. "I have to get there right now!"

"How the hell are you going to manage that kid?" Rhodes asked. "This Titan is faster than you'll ever be!"

Dominic thought hard for a moment. Then he remembered his recent ejection from the Titan.

"Shin!"

"What?! If you have an idea, stupid or brilliant, say it!" The mic crackled.

"I want you to catapult me over there."

"Now that's definitely stupid." Shin said.

"Make your Titan throw me over there!" Dominic said. "With the speed and momentum we are going, we can faster than this Titan!"

"You sure about this, Dom?!" Shin said, still holding the forward thrusters at maximum. "If I throw you with max power, I might overthrow or throw you to low. You are at risk of breaking every single bone in your body or even getting killed!"

"Does it look like I have the time to listen to all the technicalities and risks?!" Dominic yelled. "Just throw me already God damn it!"

"Whatever you say!" Shin said. "Get ready!"

His Titan lanky metallic arm reached for Dominic and grabbed him tight enough. Then, with tremendous force, the Titan threw Dominic into the air.

As Dominic sailed through the air, the crowd of civilians became clearer to him. He could now fully make out the IMC soldiers and civilians. His mind then began to think about how to handle the IMC. Then it hit him.

He had forgotten all of his weapons. All of his guns were in his previous Titan's cockpit and it blew up from battle.

_Awww Shit…_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sarah felt as if her neck would give out. The IMC commander, or whatever he was, held her hard so hard and tight, it felt like the skin around her scalp would tear away. Holding back her tears, Sarah clenched her fists and furrowed her brows in disgust. It was the least she could do to express her "discomfort" at the hands of the IMC.

"You insurgents have delayed the inevitable for far too long." The Commander said. "Today you shall all receive equal judgment."

She prayed for a miracle.

She opened her eyes and saw a speck in the sky racing towards her. Squinting towards it, Sarah saw the object was approaching incredibly fast.

_What is tha-_

The object came so fast that Sarah felt the wind of speed the object flew at her vicinity. There was a sickening sound of impact, alerting her that the object was organic, and a huge cloud of dust was kicked up. The Commander that held her hair let go of it very briefly. Sarah took this opportunity and tried to run away.

She looked behind her shoulder as the dust cleared away and could not believe her eyes.

She saw Dominic.

He held a gun towards the convoy of IMC troops, outnumbered and outgunned. When Sarah saw this, she stopped in her tracks.

"Dominic run!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

But as she did, a towering metal object flew from behind and passed her. It went terrifyingly fast. She saw the metal figure wheel a punch towards an IMC solider and saw the mercenary get thrown into the air. Sarah also saw that Dominic was as dumbfounded as she was but took advantage of the situation and started firing upon the IMC.

She then heard a familiar voice from the metal figure.

"IDRA-MKII is back in business baby! WOO-HOO!"

It was Adrian.

Then, the civilians, who had been cowering in fear until this very moment, all rose to their feet and run to assist the two brothers, Dominic and Adrian, their battle cries soaring in the sky.

Sarah saw the IMC stragglers try to retreat to their own Titans, but there a shower of led that demolished the IMC operatives as they ran. Looking to her left, Sarah saw two more tall metal figures come to their aid, each of them holding menacing weapons.

Soon, the skirmish had died out.

Dominic threw his emptied pistol onto the ground and hunched over, out of breath. He then felt two arms locked behind him, in an embrace.

He briefly looked over his shoulder to see Sarah tightly holding onto him.

"A-Are you…" Dominic tried to say, at a bit of loss for words. "Are you okay?"

Sarah nodded silently, tears streaming down her face, as she let go of him.

Dominic saw the smaller of the Titans come to stop in front of him. From the cockpit, Adrian popped out.

"Adrian!" Dominic said, running towards his brother. "H-how did you?!"

"Thank Shin for it." Adrian said, pointing at Shin. "It's all thanks to him."

Shin shook his head. "I didn't do anything."

All the civilians then gathered into a crowd. Shin then stood on top of his Titan as if it were a podium.

"The IMC today came to our colony and destroyed everything that we have worked so hard for without mercy. I know today, that many of you standing before me have lost your loved ones and friends. The words I say to honor the dead won't do our fallen ones any justice. The IMC will merely mark today as just another work day, lost to the papers. What happens to the truth? What happens to the massacre we have suffered today?!"

"WE have been haunted far too long by the IMC! WE have toiled in these fields while the IMC takes and enjoys the fruits of our hard labor! WE suffer while THEY prosper!"

The crowd of people cried out.

"If we can all rise against the IMC together, we can rewrite the history of the Frontier! We can show all the systems just what kind of people these IMC are! We can show the injustice the Frontier suffers at the hand of the IMC and make a name for ourselves! TO TRULY SHOW WHAT THE PEOPLE OF THE FRONTIER ARE!"

"TO THE PEOPLE OF THE FRONTIER!" Shin yelled.

"TO THE PEOPLE!" The crowd answered.

Dominic knew that the Battle of Colony H-24 was over but then he knew that the fight was far from over.

The Battle for the Frontier had only just begun.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**END OF CHAPTER**


	3. Chapter 1: Missed Flight

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Titanfall.**

**Author's Notes:**** It's has been a while since I updated. Sorry. School started and I am pretty busy… Anyway, this chapter won't be as hideously long as previous chapter… So yeah, hopefully you enjoy this. **

**MUCH LOVE,**

**~SAYONARA~**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He hit the back of his head hard as the transport ship lurched with mid-air turbulence. Scowling, he rubbed the backside of his sore head. He had barely managed to fall asleep earlier only to be awoken rudely by irregular flight routes. Being on the ship for nearly six hours, he needed a smoke.

"You alright back there Bish?" A voice from the cockpit called out.

"Having the time of my life…" Bish muttered, rubbing his neck.

The pilot laughed. "Don't worry. We're almost there."

Bish glared at the pilot who had turned around. "That's what you said three hours ago before we took a wrong turn and taken a detour through the wastelands…" Bish muttered.

"I had to take precautions." The pilot replied, not even turning back. "Can't have the new IMC Technician die before his first day, now can we?"

The pilot laughed at his own morbid joke, continuing to maneuver the IMC vessel. Bish remained silent and looked at Holo-watch. It was something his superiors had given him when he was assigned to this new "project", they said. The damn thing barely functioned right. Sure, Bish was pretty excited when he unboxed the device but that feeling faded away and was replaced by sheer frustration on just getting the thing turned on. And when it did, that in itself was a whole different animal.

_Long story short, this piece of crap made me lose my earlier flight._

That was true. The alarm had gone late on the watch and made him a tad bit late on reaching the shuttle docks, which wasn't bad by the way. Sure, he was in a hurry, but being late wasn't the issue. No, the watch had accessed all of his to-be flight records and messed up all the reservations and such. Instead of flying on a top-class, IMC sponsored flight, complete with complimentary meals and drinks, Bish barely managed to find himself a substitute flight.

And here he was, sitting in the back of an empty freighter shuttle.

He was scheduled to meet with the Colony's IMC coordinator and talk with him for his future proceedings. But with the thing the way they were, he was running late.

EXTREMELY late.

The blue light on Bish's Holo-watch began to blink. Looking at its monitor, Bish saw that he was getting an incoming transmission. Activating the receive button, Bish held the watch close to his face. He clicked the answer button.

"Hello?" Bish said to the watch.

"Where the hell are you?!" The voice on the other end blared. Bish flinched slightly. Looking back at the watch screen, he saw a well-kempt, middle-aged man staring back at him in complete IMC drab. It twisted Bish's insides.

"I-uh… I missed my flight…"

"Everyone figured that one at Lorke! When the shuttle flew in and your designated seat was empty, everyone was confused as hell!"

Bish sighed. He was off to a great start with the Colony commander. "My new Holo-watch messed things up…"

"Seems working fine to me."

"I-it's not like that Commander. The system is glitched or something. Something must be messing with the internal coding or the logarithm patches."

"I thought this field was your expertise, Lorke." The Commander said sternly. "Aren't you a technician?"

"No. I'm not the kind of technician that deals with small, handheld appliances. I deal with big freighters and fleet ships. Y'know, space cruisers and battle carriers? That kind of stuff?"

The commander furrowed his brows. "It's all the same to me. But that's beside the point. How long do you think it'll be before you arrive?"

"Uh…" Bish managed to say. He was completely clueless. He simply hitchhiked a flight from this freighter pilot at the last second and thus began his flight course. Bish turned to the pilot.

"Hey… Uh, sir?"

"What's up?" The pilot said, glancing back slightly.

"How much longer do we have until we arrive in Colony H-24?"

"Ah… Close to twenty minutes and counting. Why?"

"Nothing. Thank you."

The pilot returned to piloting the shuttle and Bish turned back to the Holo-watch. The commander's face looked incredibly annoyed.

"Well?" The commander spat. "How long do you have?"

"Close to twenty minutes sir."

"Agh…" The commander muttered, rubbing his face. "Transportation services are scarce around this colony and they all close in about five minutes."

Bish shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine with walking. I'm done sitting around anyway."

"You sure, Lorke?" The commander asked.

"Why not?" Bish said. "Anyway, how far is the IMC Headquarters?"

"That's the problem…" The commander said, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?"

The nearest shuttle site from the IMC Headquarters is about twenty miles, and that's the closest you can get. Even if you say that you'll walk, you'll tire yourself out before you even get halfway."

Bish felt like he had been slapped in the face.

_TWENTY MILES?! I'M A TECH! NOT A FOOTSOLDIER!_

"I-uh… I could look for a place to stay for the night?"

The commander sighed. "Do what you must. But I want you in my office first thing tomorrow morning and ON TIME."

Bish gave a mock salute with his right hand. "Will do commander."

"Alright then. And before you go…"

Bish looked at the watch. "What is it sir?"

The commander's face turned serious. "The locals don't take well from outsiders, especially ones of IMC personnel."

Bish chuckled. "So what? They're just colonists. I ain't got anything to worry about."

"I'm being dead-serious Lorke." The commander said. "You best watch yourself out there."

"Gotcha commander." Bish said, putting his finger on the end switch. "I'll catch you later."

"Bish, wai-!"

Bish ended the call. Shutting his watch off, Bish leaned back in his seat, trying to make the best out of his uncomfortable seat. His back ached like crazy.

"How much longer, Pilot?" Bish asked.

"We're here."

Bish bolted up from his seat and rushed over to the cockpit. The pilot was right, they had arrived at their destination. The only problem was that what Bish had imagined and what was before him were two different things.

There was dirt… just everywhere.

Normally, near a shuttle dock, buildings and shops would be set up around for all arrival passengers. But this colony was different. There was nothing in sight, save for a watchtower and a dock management station.

"This… this is it?!" Bish exclaimed with disbelief.

The pilot smirked. "That's right. Colony H-24, like you said. This is it."

"God. Damn. It."

"God had nothing to with this man. You got what you asked for."

Bish shook his head and went back to his seat. He picked up his bags and went to the pilot.

"Where's the nearest motel or hotel?" Bish asked the pilot.

"There's one right outside the flight dock, next to the station." The pilot replied, rubbing his fingers with his gloved hand. "IMC policy."

"Right. Anyway, how much do they charge?"

"Go ask them." The pilot said nonchalantly. "I don't know."

Bish scowled. "Fine."

Bish picked up his bags again and began to walk back down to the container hull and towards the exit of the shuttle.

"Hey!"

It was the pilot.

Turning around, Bish looked back at him. "What?"

"Aren't you gonna pay man?" The pilot asked, wiping a tuft of brown hair out of his eyes. "For the flight."

Rolling his eyes, Bish reached into his pockets and pulled out a transparent card with black numbers marked over it. The pilot took out a scanner and held it in front of Bish. Bish slid his card down the scanner.

The pilot stared up at him. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Bish looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Your card's empty man. The scanner picked up nothing."

"How is that possible?" Bish said, exasperated. "It was a full 500 creds in there before I left…"

"Well, it's empty now man." The pilot said.

"Damn it…" Bish said. He thought of a solution. "Do you mind if you put the fee on my tab?"

The pilot sighed. "Y'know what? Just go the inn next to the station and say Nils sent you. The keepers will know what I mean."

"Wait a minute… Didn't you say that you didn't know anything about the inn?"

"I said I didn't know their prices, not the keepers themselves." The pilot replied.

"Oh."

"Now, are you just going to sit around here and do nothing or are you gonna actually get a move on? I've still got work to do man."

"Right, right. My bad."

Bish rushed back towards the back of the shuttle as the pilot, Nils, opened the compartment door. A draft hit Bish. He was unprepared for this windy weather. Dust clouds blew in the wind. Several lights were lit around the dock, lighting the pathway. Walking off the shuttle, Bish gave one last look around the place. There wasn't much to take in.

"Hey!"

It was the pilot again.

Annoyed, Bish looked back. "What is it now?"

"Just a word of caution man. The locals here don't take too kindly to strangers. And when I overheard your conversation earlier, I heard that you were a member of the IMC. So the warning should go double for you."

"Okay." Bish said. "That's it?"

"Whatever man, just watch yourself out there." The pilot said.

"Yeah yeah sure." Bish said, waving him off.

The pilot closed the compartment doors and soon his shuttle took off and flew away.

Picking up his bags, Bish sighed, thinking about what the pilot and his commander told him.

"_Locals don't take kindly to strangers… watch yourself out there…_

Bish forced himself to chuckle.

"They're just locals, how bad can they be?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**(A/N): Probably the shortest chapter in my FanFic history. Anyway, the story is just beginning. **

**Stay tuned!**

**Until next time,**

**~SAYONARA~**


End file.
